


The Nanny

by OmgItsA



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Eventual Relationships, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Mutant Powers, Pre-Captain America: Civil War (Movie)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-24
Updated: 2018-04-16
Packaged: 2018-07-26 08:33:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 23,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7567339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OmgItsA/pseuds/OmgItsA
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After nearly a year of searching Steve has finally managed to get his best friend back…well almost. Bucky is on the mend, and has agreed to move into the tower with Steve. Unable to put off his work with The Avengers any longer, Steve is quickly becoming overwhelmed with trying to save the world and his best friend. Enter Allison Stills, Bruce Banner's former assistant with a heart of gold, and a secret. After working with Dr. Banner and his bigger, meaner, greener alter ego taking care of The Winter Solder should be a breeze…right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Meeting Banner's Babysitter

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own, nor am I affiliated with Marvel. Nothing you recognize belongs to me.

Steve was taking Sam on a tour of the tower. They’d been out chasing Bucky since triskelion fell on Washington. The two had reached a dead end, and headed to New York for some new intel from Natasha, and a bit of rest. Steve lead Sam towards the labs to introduce Bruce and Tony.  
"We'll go to Bruce first, he's a lot easier to deal with than Tony." Steve said turning the corner and freezing, "Speak of the devil…" he murmured.  
If Tony heard Steve's comment he made no indication. The man was standing outside Bruce's lab glaring at something through the glass door. As Steve approached he could see a young woman in Bruce's lab. She was sitting on top of a desk reading a book, while pointedly ignoring Tony.  
" _That_ is Dr. Banner?" Sam asked skeptically while eyeing the woman appreciatively.  
"No,” Tony scoffed, "That’s Allison- his babysitter."  
"Since when does Bruce have an assistant?" Steve asked assuming 'babysitter' was Tony’s way of saying assistant.  
"Since Pepper got tired of Bruce hulking out during brunch." Tony answered, "She started a couple of weeks after you left to search for your boyfriend. And she's totally not an assistant- she's a glorified nanny. She feeds him, waters him, and takes him outside for sun to keep the stress down."  
"Why are you glaring at her from the hall?" Steve asked, not bothering to correct Tony about the boyfriend dig.  
"I'm locked out," he mumbled, a little upset Cap hadn't responded to his antagonizing "I don’t have the password."  
"What password?" Sam asked, amused, but not surprised to see the billionaire pouting.  
Tony sighed heavily before explaining Allison and Bruce’s agreement. According to Tony, Bruce himself in a sort of ‘do not disturb' mode, where no one is allowed to interrupt him. The only way to get to Bruce is to have the password.  
"And she locks you out?" Steve asked taking a little too much delight in Tony's frustration.  
"I get five tries, and then I get locked out for an hour." Tony huffed.  
They watched the girl check her watch, and hop off the desk. She was gorgeous, different from the women he'd grown up admiring, but not entirely unfamiliar. A Gypsy they might have called her back then, bohemian now-a-days. She had dark hair, and dark eyes. She was thin, but busty from what he could see through her many layers of clothing. She wore a black tank top under a grey V-neck, covered with an oversized maroon cardigan that fell to her mid-thigh. Her denim shorts were just a hair too short to really be work appropriate. She had several crystal necklaces and quite a few bracelets adorning her arms. What would have been gaudy on most women, seemed to complement her quite well. They watched her slip her shoes on and make her way to the door.  
"You still have fifteen minutes left Tony, why don't you go do something productive until your time is up?" she asked, breezing past the three men towards the floor's kitchen. Tony followed, waving the other two along, ignoring the amused looks they shot at each other before trailing after.  
"I can’t go any further without his help!" Tony complained, "You're standing in the way of progress Miss. Stills."  
"No I'm not." She replied calmly while grabbing four bowls out of the cupboard and making her way over to a crockpot. "You just want to talk _at_ him until you have an epiphany."  
"Do not." Tony started to argue, but was cut off by a bowl of soup and a bottle of water being thrust into his hands.  
"You're working on trying to update the security system according to the notes that were left on my desk- which is not my job by the way." she said filling two more bowls and sliding them down the counter towards the Sam and Steve, "Dr. Banner has no expertise in that area. You just want to throw ideas at him, because you’re bored with talking at FRIDAY and DUMMY. Now eat."  
"What is this?" he asked picking at the food like toddler while she grabbed bread out of the oven and divided it up among the men and a tray for Dr. Banner.  
"It's Mulligatawny Soup. " She said pushing bottled water towards Sam and Steve, "It's a creamy spiced curry with lentils, carrots, apples, and coconut milk."  
"Why do you have to make Indian all the time?" Tony asked using the bread she gave him to shovel the soup into his mouth, "I hate Indian food."  
"Because A) I'm Dr. Banner's assistant, not yours." she replied starting a kettle to boil, "And B) he likes Indian food."  
"I'm still your boss," Tony snarked with his mouth full while watching her arrange the soup, and bread on the tray "So you should be more respectful of my wishes to."  
"You’re not my boss- Pepper is my boss." she replied patiently- obviously having had this conversation before, "And I made BLT's yesterday for you, remember?"  
"It wasn't real bacon." he said watching her ladle more soup into the other men's empty bowls. Steve and Sam hadn’t eaten anything that didn’t come through a drive through window in weeks, and inhaled the home cooked meal in record time.  
"Finish your soup Tony," She said pouring hot water into an ornate pot and adding leaves to steep "Once JARVIS confirms you ate it all I'll let you talk to Dr. Banner while he eats his lunch."  
"You're a real taskmaster you know that kid?" Tony asked in between bites. Allison rolled her eyes at the man before picking up the try and heading back to the lab.  
"You two feel free to finish the rest!" she called over her shoulder.  


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

"Oh!" she startled, not expecting anyone to be in the kitchen, much less cleaning. "Thank you!"

"It was the least we could do Ma'am," Steve replied, drying his hands "That was the best thing I've eaten in weeks."  
"Seconded." Sam agreed holding his hand out, "Sam Wilson, and thanks for the much needed, very delicious meal."  
"Steve Rogers," Steve shook her hand next "Sorry we didn’t introduce ourselves before."  
"Oh, don’t worry," she laughed, "I'm Allison Stills, Dr. Banner's assistant, and/or babysitter, depending on who you ask."  
"And Tony's too it sounds like," Steve smiled "I don’t envy you. How long have you been here?"  
"About two months," She replied grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge and handing it to Steve. "Pepper has enough on her plate without having to worry about Tony annoying himself into an early grave. She hired me to act as a buffer between Dr. Banner and Tony."  
"Is it working?" Sam asked, the girl shrugged modestly.  
"Dr. Banner's stress levels have gone down 78% since Miss. Still's arrival." JARVIS chimed in helpfully, "And involuntary Hulk appearances down 80%."  
"I’m sorry, _Involuntary_ Hulk appearances?" Sam asked a little concerned.  
"Don’t worry, he mostly just stomps around and shouts until Tony goes away." She said with a nonchalance Steve had never seen anyone use when talking about Hulk. "He does have a proclivity towards smashing, but once you get past that he's sort of a softie."  
"Softie, sure." Sam scoffed.  
"I've found the most important thing to remember is-" whatever Allison was going to say was cut off by JARVIS requesting her presence in Dr. Banner's lab.  
"I better see what they need," she sighed, "It was nice to meet you two!"  
"See you 'round." Sam called after her, "Ok, I'm really going to like it here if pretty women giving you free food is a common occurrence."  
Steve was half way through the bottle before he even realized how thirsty he was.  
"It's not," Steve murmured watching the door.  
_How did she know I was thirsty?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning, I haven’t written fanfiction in a good couple of years so this may be a little rocky. I haven't quite decided what the relationship will be yet, once I figure it out I'll update the tags accordingly. I appreciate any feedback, thanks!  
> -A


	2. Saying Goodbye to Banner's Babysitter

Steve hadn’t been back to the tower for longer than a day in the last four months. He and Sam got in late last night, and both were more than ready for some quick R&R before heading back out. The plan was to return to a few of the locations they'd already hit. Sam suggested Bucky might double back, knowing the areas would be cleared of Hydra. Out of any credible leads, it was the best option they had.   
After a restful sleep in a familiar bed Steve woke up famished, just in time for lunch. He was on his way to the common floor kitchen to find something to eat. Something hot to eat. Preferably made by Allison. A quick check with the Tower's A.I. indicated no one was in the labs today though. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't a little disappointed.  
The woman could _cook_ , something that appealed greatly to his "old timey sensibilities" as Sam put it. He wasn't fooled though, Sam was also quite taken by Allison's culinary talents, and sweet disposition. The last few times they’d been back she’d left leftovers of whatever she'd made Bruce and Tony last. The one time there wasn't (thanks to Clint who had started raiding the lab's fridge) she left to make them something almost as soon as they'd walked into the lab. Allison seemed very intuitive, she took one look at the weary men and just knew a hot meal was what they needed to feel human again. It was that kind of intuition that made her so great at her job, Pepper sure could pick 'em.  
Now admittedly Steve didn’t live with the most stable of personalities. So he wasn’t surprised that there was currently an argument taking place in the common room, it was who was arguing that was surprising- shocking actually. Steve only ever heard Pepper yell at Tony, and never with the level of contempt she was currently throwing at _Natasha_ of all people.   
He made eye contact with Rodney from across the room. The other man shook his head- warning him not to get involved. So Steve carefully edged around the room discreetly towards Rodney. They watched Pepper wind down from her rant while Tony carefully angled himself between the two women, ready to intervene should he need to. Trust Pepper Potts to dress down the deadly spy-sassin with absolutely no problem: Tony (understandably) looked stressed.  
"I didn’t blame you when my assistant, and friend turned out to be a spy," she seethed, "I didn’t hold a grudge when you slept with Tony at that party." Both Steve and Rodney froze at that shocking revelation. "But _this_ is unforgivable."  
"I'm not apologizing." Natasha spit out.  
"Then we have nothing to say to each other." Pepper said, storming past Tony to the elevator.  
"Do I want to know?" Steve asked the other man.  
"You ever get to meet Allison?" Rodney asked pouring himself a drink.  
"Yeah, Banner's assistant." Steve said, confused as to what she could have done to upset the other two women.   
"She's a mutant." Rodney said, "Pepper didn’t think it was information the team needed to know, and Natasha disagrees." The man did a very good job of not weighing in on the matter. Steve wasn’t sure if it was his military experience, or years of being friends with Tony and Pepper that made him so diplomatic. "Natasha did her Widow thing, found out and made it public knowledge. Thought she was busting a liar, or spy or something, but Pepper already knew."  
"So, Pepper's mad at Natasha because she spilled the beans?" Steve asked skeptically, there had to be more to the story.  
"Allison resigned." Rodney said, "I don’t know what happened specifically, but some of the other lab monkeys- well former lab monkeys now- we're harassing her. It's been a tense few weeks in the labs and from what I gather it came to a head a couple days ago. Natasha locked Allison in a room and interrogated her about her intentions."  
Steve winced.  
"Tony and Pepper tried to convince her to stay, but she's over it." Rodney said, "When Bruce gets back from his mission he's going to be so pissed." Dr. Banner was needed on a special assignment, and had been gone for just about three weeks.  
Steve turned to see the young woman in question come into the common with Pepper. She looked good, better than he remembered. Minus the busted lip, and fading bruise on her cheek, courtesy of The Widow no doubt.   
Natasha tensed immediately at the girl's entrance. It did not go unnoticed by Allison as she assured the women her ride would be here soon. Thinly veiled contempt laced her words.  
"It's 4:00 in Manhattan," Tony said, trying to diffuse the tension "They aren’t getting anywhere soon kid."  
"They're not coming by car," she smiled at him mischievously.  
"What are you talkin…" Tony trailed off catching a black speck in the skyline get closer and closer at an astounding speed.  
"I'm not worried," Natasha said ignoring Tony, "You’re leaving."  
Steve couldn’t always read Natasha, but he was pretty sure that was not a genuine statement.   
"Oh? Something else making you tense then? Don't worry," Allison's tone was sweet, but her smile biting, "I had to sign a million nondisclosures, so your secret's safe with me."   
"Excuse me?" Nat asked sizing the girl up, _what did she know?_   
"I won't be telling anyone that Black Widow is a bigot." She said.   
Steve almost swallowed his own tongue, she must be a powerful mutant to dig at Natasha that way, and not be terrified of the consequences.  
"I'm not a bigot." The Widow seethed.  
"No, I'm sure you have a _ton_ of mutant friends." Allison smiled bitterly. Rodney snorted.  
"Allison, just who is picking you up?" Tony asked watching a black jet land almost silently, and the ramp lower "Is that the…?"  
"Yeah, it totally is." Allison said watching the man practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. It was no secret he had a man-crush on Hank McCoy, and all his inventions- X-Jet included.  
"I'll finish packing," she said turning back to the elevator, "I suspect Logan will want to catch up with Captain Rogers anyway."  
"Logan?" Steve asked trying to place the name.  
"He went by James Howlett back when you knew him." She called back,  
"Jimmy?!" Steve said aloud to himself confused.  
"Haven't gone by that in a long time bub," a gruff and familiar voice said from behind him. Steve turned towards the balcony door and there stood Jimmy Howlett, not aged a day since Steve met him back in the war. He walked in followed by a stunning redhead, and an older man in a wheelchair.  
"Are we allowed in?" the redhead asked tartly, "Or should we wait outside- I didn’t see 'no mutants welcome' posted out there, but we didn’t exactly use the front door either."  
"Jean, relax." Logan reprimanded, "Steve is good people."  
"I wasn't asking Steve." she said eyeing Natasha with hostility.  
While Professor Xavier, and Pepper handled the introductions Natasha had a chilling experience. _"You're damn lucky I didn’t get to come alone,"_ her entire body tensed at the foreign words in her head, as she involuntarily pinched her own thigh hard enough to bruise _"As I'd be real tempted to make you walk yourself right off this roof."_ The Widow wisely chose to remain silent.  
"Jean, why don’t you go help Allison with her things." The Professor said trying to distract the woman. She nodded and followed Pepper out of the room.  
"Jimmy, it’s so good to see you!" Steve said clasping the man on the arm.  
"You to bub," Logan replied, "Sorry I didn’t get in touch sooner but I had some memory issues. Just recently started to come back."   
"No, it's…its ok, this is…wow." Steve was stunned. "I guess I should be used to people not being dead, but…"  
"I heard about Sargent Barnes," Logan said lowly, puling the man into a private conversation, "I'll help any way I can."  
"I appreciate that," Steve said leading the man to the other end of the bar to talk privately.  
"Professor, I'm so sorry about this," Pepper said walking back into the room "I can’t help but feel as though this is my fault. If I'd been upfront with everyone maybe this would have turned out differently…"  
"No worries my dear," The Professor said kindly, "Allison is nothing if not resilient. And we understand that the opinions of some do not reflect your organizations beliefs."   
"Oh good," Tony said "Then we don’t have to worry 'bout a little bigotry creating bad blood between the Avengers and the X-Men."  
Rodney rolled his eyes, Pepper pursed her lips, while the widow scoffed and left the room. Trust Tony Stark to not beat around the bush. At least The Professor didn’t seem bothered by Tony's uncouth approach to business.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

It didn’t take long for Allison to come back with Jean, and her luggage. While the older woman sort of magic-ed the bags into the jet Pepper came over and pulled the girl into a hug.   
"Can you give this to him?" Allison asked handing Pepper a letter addressed to Dr. Banner, "I'm rubbish at goodbyes." She had grown quite close to the Dr. Banner during her time at the tower.   
"Yes, of course!" Pepper assured while hugging the girl, and apologizing again.   
"It's ok-" Allison started, but was cut off.   
"It's really not," Pepper said, "I thought better of her. You can rest assured there are going to be consequences to her actions. I hope we can still keep in touch?"  
"I'd like that." Alison murmured into the woman's shoulder trying not to cry- she really hated goodbyes.  
"If you need anything don’t hesitate to call me!" Pepper insisted letting her go with one final squeeze.  
"Thank you Pepper," she smiled.   
Tony approached hesitantly, uncomfortable with the level of emotion he was feeling.  
"You’re sure I can’t convince you to stay?" he asked softly, "I'm very rich."  
"It wouldn’t work." she said sadly, "These last couple weeks have been trying for all of us. I can't imagine Dr. Banner would be able to relax with all the tension. Try not to bug him too much ok? Remember what we talked about. Boundaries."  
"Allison, I have something important I need to ask you before you leave." Tony said seriously.  
"It was 'Password'." She replied, knowing what he wanted. Honestly, she was surprised he waited this long to ask.  
"Are you kidding me?!" Tony asked, "His password was PASSWORD?!"  
"He never reset it from the default." She joked.  
"You need anything you call me," Tony said shocking everyone by pulling the girl into a hug, "A letter of recommendation, a rocket, a million dollars- doesn’t matter just call ok?"  
"Thank you, Tony," Allison said blinking away her tears. She was going to miss her mad-scientist, almost as much as her _angry_ scientist.  
After all the goodbyes Allison settled herself into a seat on the jet. Logan sat across from her, and kindly did not comment on the tears silently making their way down her cheeks. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was quick right? So these first few chapters are going to move fast. I want to quickly establish Allison as being apart of this group- without having to really flesh it out too much since it's not the focus of the story. I've played around with some ideas for one-shots if you’re interested in her time with the Tony and Bruce and the shenanigans that ensue. 
> 
> Next chapter we'll learn more about Allison, and her powers. We'll also see Bucky, but it's probably chapter 4 before Allison gets to actually meet him. It's just about complete and should be up no later than Wednesday, sooner if I can get myself motivated. 
> 
> Have a good day!


	3. The Man's Got A Plan

Steve stared at his best friend from across the room. He was pretty sure Bucky hadn't moved from that spot in the last six hours. While they had come a _long_ way in the four months since they found him, Bucky was still working though his issues. 

For obvious reasons they kept his treatment in-house. Bruce took charge of Bucky's physical health; he was the most qualified as he was familiar with serum and its effect on the body. Sam helped with his mental health; although Bucky refused to talk about his trauma, Sam coached Steve on dealing with PTSD. Clint appointed himself as security; he kept his distance, but watched the other man like a hawk(author not only intended that pun but laughed out loud at her own lame joke). 

Tony was in charge of maintaining the arm; it was the probably the hardest job as Bucky was prone to flashbacks while in the lab. Pepper was handling legal and PR issues; she had a team of lawyers working full time on exonerating him of his crimes while trying to get a more positive image out.

Natasha was distant, but that was mostly because she had been out on assignments for the majority of Buck's stay thus far. Truth be told she was still getting all the shit assignments. Hill currently had her undercover in a small Missouri town following a pretty unreliable lead about a local pastor being a HYDRA member. 

Since going back to work Steve couldn’t be with Bucky as much, and the other man was really struggling. He had hoped Bucky would be able to connect with the other Avengers, making Steve's time away less jarring, but Buck hadn't been successful in building those relationships. Honestly, he wasn't even trying. 

Steve thought back to his conversation with Bruce earlier that day while he brushed his hair in the hall mirror.  


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

"He's losing weight, and he's not sleeping regularly." Bruce said, going over Bucky's latest physical exam. "You really need to make sure he's eating enough. He's started to lose the weight he gained since he came here, and he really can’t afford to. He was already underweight, and with the serum's increased metabolism he's practically starving himself. It's so much harder to work on his mental health if he's not physically healthy."

"Sleep deprivation will make triggering his PTSD episodes a lot easier." Sam added. 

"Yeah, and he's more of a dick when he's hangry." Clint said, "Which is kind of always so…"

"I try," Steve sighed, " But I can't be with him 24/7 anymore. I'm back on active duty now. He doesn't eat unless he's fed- it's like he doesn't know when he's hungry. Plus I don’t think he sleeps when I'm away."

"I legitimately don’t think he moved from when we left on Saturday, to when we got back Monday." Sam said, "He has a real failure to thrive thing going on."

"He was a sniper," Clint said, "he probably _didn’t_ move. He's used to sitting and waiting for instruction. Sounds like he's reverting back to The Soldier- it's more comfortable for him."

"No he just…yeah, you're right. He's still trying to break the conditioning on some things." Steve tried to explain, "Like he still thinks he needs permission to eat, sleep, read, anything."

"Sounds like he needs a handler," Clint said, "Or a babysitter."

"Oh should we just put an add out?" Sam asked sarcastically. "He needs Steve home with him still."

"Hey, we need Rodgers in the field. Bad guys don't take a break because of family emergencies. They're getting bolder because The Captain has been absent." Clint argued, "Barnes is either not willing or not able to take care of himself. You just need someone around for custodial care." 

"We really do," Steve agreed, "Where do I even look for that sort of thing?"

"They have those day centers for old people, you could start there." Clint suggested, ignoring Caps unamused look, "They'd probably have a lot in common." he added unhelpfully.

"You need someone who can anticipate his needs, without being intrusive." Bruce said thoughtfully, "Someone who will create routines, and set boundaries. Someone with a calming nature, sensitive- but still able hold their own. Someone familiar with our work, and the danger it brings. Someone discrete."

"Sounds perfect," Sam said, "You know a guy?"

"A girl actually," Banner replied, cleaning his glasses, "A certain ex-assistant of mine."

"Nat's not gunna' like that," Clint murmured. It'd been about seven months since Allison resigned, and Nat was still catching flack for it.

"Quite frankly, I don’t give a fuck about _what_ Nat likes." Bruce spit out bitterly, complexion turning a very subtle greenish color. Bruce had not taken the news of Allison's departure well. Hulk had taken it even worse. In hindsight, they probably should have waited until _after_ he recovered from his mission to tell him. Jetlag was a bitch. Natasha hadn't been that scared of Hulk since she was pinned on the helicarrier during the Loki incident. In fact Hulk threw a tantrum so disruptive they had to evacuate the entire tower. Tony named the day 'Green Friday' and added it to the company's holiday calendar.

"Allison is exactly the person you need Steve, she's more than qualified." Bruce said after a few calming breaths.

"You sound a little bitter there doc." Clint teased trying to get him to relax.

"I am," the older man admitted freely, "She was wonderful. I leave, and she gets run out of her job and home for absolutely no good reason."

"We didn’t run her out," Clint said, "She chose to leave because of a little conflict."

"Physical assault is not _'a little conflict'_ Clint! Would you work and live in a hostile- you know what, never mind I know you would." he sighed, "She didn’t deserve to be called out, and harassed. Her mutation was nothing dangerous, or compromising to any of us."

An explosion from Tony's lab shook the room, Bruce sighed heavily pinching the bridge of his nose. "She was a welcome addition in the labs, and her mutation could potentially have been beneficial to the team. "

"You really think she's the best option?" Sam asked, trying to move past this argument and get back on topic. "Barnes is on the mend, but he's still pretty rough ‘round the edges right now."

"We're talking about a woman who handled both Tony Stark, and the Other Guy with minimal effort. We were all smitten." Bruce said, "If that doesn't speak volumes about her competence I don’t know what would."

"Some would say you guys fell in line, and were smitten _because_ of her mutation." Clint said, voicing his partner's opinion.

"And those people are ignorant bigots." Bruce snapped, "Read her file from Xavier, she's a delta level empath. Aside from a very minimal gentle soothing she can emit- which to be honest I'm not sure isn't just a part of her personality, she doesn't have the ability to control people's emotions. She can't will them to do anything they don't want to."

"That we know of…" Clint said backing up a bit at the glare he received, "Look I don’t have a problem with her, but I'll be damned if I don’t at least voice Nat's arguments. She'll be pissed if we make a decision without her input."

"Pretty sure she'll be pissed either way," Sam argued.

"…Less pissed." Clint amended.

"Why did she have such a problem with her?" Steve asked.

"Nat doesn't like surprises." Clint sighed, "She already knew something was up, the girl was just a little _too_ intuitive. Nat always assumes the worst, and Allison was an unknown variable in the tower. She was trying to protect the team, and it got away from her."

"She just didn’t like the idea of someone knowing when she was lying." Bruce scoffed.

"If Pepper had been honest would it have changed her opinion?" Steve asked ignoring Bruce's comment.

"Yeah," Clint replied immediately, "She won't admit it but she felt bad about the whole thing. She's not a bigot, and has nothing against mutants. Allison was just a surprise. Nat did not approach the situation correctly- she counts it as a failed mission."

Steve was silent for a moment. It was really a no-brainer. Allison would be able to read Bucky. That would make caring for a man who couldn’t identify his wants and needs infinitely easier. In theory, she'd also be able to calm him down and maybe keep him from having an episode. The only downside was potential backlash from Natasha, but even she should be able to see the benefits.

"Would she come back?" Sam asked Bruce.

"I think so," Bruce said after a moment, "She left because of the environment. Those cretins from the lab were fired, and if Natasha can get over herself sounds like there wouldn’t be any issues. Allison quite enjoyed it here, but I'm not sure where she's working now."

"I'll call Jimmy," Steve decided, "See if he can put some feelers out and get her to meet with me."

"Why?" Tony asked walking in the room- the smell of burnt rubber following him, "She's having dinner with Pepper and I at that Italian place on 4th tonight. You can come, we'll have a double date."

"We're you eavesdropping?" Bruce asked, annoyed but not surprised.

"Testing the security systems." he muttered grabbing a fire extinguisher from Bruce's lab and going back to his own. 

"I really miss her." Bruce sighed after another explosion set off the fire alarms.  


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Pepper agreed to let him crash her dinner to talk business. Steve had showered and put on his dress slacks. Knowing Pepper this was probably a classy joint.

"You goin' Fishin'?" Bucky smirked watching Steve fiddle with his hair in the hall mirror, "Or you got a Dame you’re going steady with that I didn’t know 'bout?"

"No Buck" Steve laughed, "You're the lady killer."

"That’s what they say." he heard the other man mutter, "Can't quite remember how to be charming now-a-days." 

"You're plenty charming." Steve tried to assure the other man. Based on the skeptic look Bucky shot him he was not successful. "I have a business dinner of sorts tonight with Tony and Pepper. Sam is going to come over in a bit for dinner."

"You don’t got to leave me with a fuckin' nanny Stevie." Bucky groused.

"Sam is not a nanny, he's your friend." Steve reprimanded. _I'm going to dinner with your Nanny…if she agrees to it that is_.

"Ah, blow it out your barracks bag Stevie." Bucky huffed, "Wilson and I ain't friends, we tolerate each other…mostly for your sake."

"Look, he's coming over, he's going to make sure you eat dinner, and then he'll go." Steve said, "Please, for fucks sake just _try_ not to be an asshole ok?"

"Hope you don’t plan on kissin' your girl with that mouth of yours, Rogers," Bucky teased, only getting a long suffering sigh in response as his friend left to meet Tony and Pepper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to sit on this a little longer, at least until the first draft of chapter 4 was mostly finished, but diamondfilledsky just asked so nicely. So I mean, what was I supposed to do? _Not_ upload it the second I finished it? Pft. ;D 
> 
> Anyway, all the ground work is all set now, Bucky meets Allison in the next chapter. I'm still playing around with it, TBH it's driving me a little bit crazy. And I feel like a lying liar who lies with this three chapters in two days nonsense. I can’t imagine that it'll continue much longer, fair warning! 
> 
> Were you surprised about the mutation? It's not super exciting now but I have plans. I tried to hint at it in the first chapter with the food an water bit, and the second chapter with also the food bit and her calling out Natasha. And I promise Natasha isn’t going to be a bitch forever, but I don’t feel like she trusts people easily- and once she does I imagine it's almost punishing in its devotion. I don’t mean to wax poetic about The Widow. Moving on.
> 
> Shout out to Maistyria for catching my FRIDAY/JARVIS error in the first chapter, thanks again gir!
> 
> And 'WWII Slang" is def in my search history now. I will be attempting to shamelessly throw them in whenever Steve and Bucky's are together. Head cannon: like I'm sure Steve gets teased whenever he uses old sayings right? And Bucky remembers being Bucky more when he's around Steve, so his Brooklyn is more prevalent. It has to be comforting to slip back into that 30's cadence and use those colloquialisms right? I really have a few I just want to work in for the hell of it 'Belly Cousin' 'Chicken Berry' 'Tin Pickle' why did we ever stop saying those ridiculous phrases?! 
> 
> Ok I'm done stream on conscious-ing this authors note, so thanks! Have a good week!


	4. Exactly What The Doctor Prescribed

It turned out Pepper and Allison had bi-weekly dinners, Tony too when he could make it. After the others had caught up Steve explained the situation in detail. He gave her Bucky's file, and told her to call whenever she made her choice. It hadn't even been an hour after dinner before she called and accepted. Steve had a feeling Logan may have helped sway her decision, something he was immensely grateful for. Allison's only caveat had been that the _whole_ team had to be on board, i.e. Natasha. 

That conversation hadn’t been as bad as he thought, thank God. Steve caught Nat at the end of a work out about an hour after Allison called. He'd already told Pepper, and Hill so preparations were being made.

"She accepted the offer," Steve said watching her unwrap her hands.

"Who?" Natasha asked.

"Don’t act like you don’t know who I'm talking about," Steve laughed lightly, "It insults us both."

"It's the best option for Barnes" She said after a moment, Natasha kind of missed when he was too intimidated to call her on her shit.

"Are you going to have a problem?" he asked.

" _Have_ a problem or _be_ a problem?" She countered.

"Both I suppose," he mused, Steve really hated when she answered a question with a question. 

"Will you make them stop sending me on missions where I can’t shoot anyone?" she asked after a moment of contemplation. It was happening either way, she might as well get something out of it.

"Yes I will," he agreed, Steve had already talked to Hill about it so it was no skin off his teeth to let her think she got her way.

"Then I wont _be_ a problem." She replied curtly.

"Natasha," Steve sighed "I can’t bring her in if there is going to be an issue."

"There is not going to be an issue. I'll keep my distance." the redhead said stoically, 

"Alright," he said after a moment, "That’s all I ask for." 

With that out of the way they had proceeded to hash out living arrangements. It made the most sense for Allison to live on Steve's floor in the extra room. It was large and had an en suite, so she could have some privacy. 

Pepper had explained that it was ok now-a-days for a single woman to room with two bachelors. She assured him that Allison's reputation would remain intact. Sometimes Steve really hated how sheltered everyone assumed he was. But it was Pepper, and he knew she didn’t mean any harm so he let it go.

They'd decided to sit down and tell Bucky intimately, Just Steve, Sam, and Allison. Steve and Sam both felt he would take it better in a small group vs with the whole team. Steve stressed that they thought he'd take it _better_ , not take it _well_. 

"Hey Buck," Steve called from the living room on their floor. "Can you come in here?" 

It was just after lunch, Bucky had occupied himself in the common most of the day per Steve's request. After lunch he'd come back, and locked himself in his room. He occasionally caught snippets of conversation from Steve and a woman. He didn’t recognize the voice. 

_"Business dinner of sorts" my ass._ Bucky thought, as he made his way into the living room, _They really think I'm stupid._

He sat down on a couch across from Steve and the young woman. She was attractive, he supposed, and she had calming air about her. Bucky liked her, The Solder was suspicious. He took her eclectic style in, missing nothing. _Gypsy_ Bucky thought, _Romani_ said The Soldier.

He saw Sam enter from the empty room on the other side of the apartment. _Jesus, if Wilson is here we’re going to talk about **feelings**. Fucking great._

"Bucky I’d like you to meet Allison Stills," Steve introduced, she didn’t try to shake his hand, so they must have warned her. That meant she was sticking around if they'd told her what a basket case he was. 

"This the dame you wanted me to clear out for?" Bucky asked, he would have said it in a teasing tone, but with a stranger in the room The Soldier was dominant, and The Soldier did _not_ tease. "Couldn’t make time at her place Stevie, had to come here?"

Steve's cheeks lit up like the 4th of July, Sam cut a look at Steve, and Allison tried to hide her smile. _Not dating then,_ Bucky thought, _But not out of the cards based on Steve's blush, and Sam's smirk._

"No, we're not, I mean…no she's…We're not dating." Steve cleared his throat, "But she is going to be staying with us for a while."

The Punk _must_ like her. Stevie got over the whole 'couldn’t talk to women' thing pretty quick after the serum. He didn’t remember much, but he knew they'd at least been belly cousins during the war. And Bucky hadn't been the only one to talk those dames into a good time. 

"Do you want to know why?" Sam prompted, at Bucky's silence.

"Sure." Bucky replied flatly. The more uncomfortable he was, the more The Soldier took over, and the less he could emote. He didn't know if he liked how she was looking at him; analyzing, and …sympathizing? But not the pity he was used to.

"She's going to help you out around here." Steve said cautiously, the way one might talk to a frightened animal.

"Don’t want a head-shirker." Bucky grunted, "Told you that already."

"She's not a therapist," Wilson said, "She's just going to help out with everyday things, 'till you get the hang of it."

He looked at Steve sharply. _Explain_ he willed silently.

"You know, like…" Steve cleared his throat again, why was he so anxious? "Like cooking, and making sure you're sleeping, you know, keeping you company. Whatever you need while I'm not here."

 _Mother. Fucker._ Bucky froze, and turned an icy glare to Steve _He really got me a fucking_ nanny _for Christ's sake_.  


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Never let it be said that Bucky Barnes couldn't express himself when he needed to, he could. It was just usually not so…polite. He laid into Steve and Wilson with all the bravados of a kid from Brooklyn, and the deadly rage of a Russian assassin. Unconcerned with Allison's presence in the room he spouted off an interesting mix of swearwords in both English and Russian. 

She let him get most of his piss and vinegar out, but grew tired of the three men squabbling. It was trying her nerves. The emotion built in the room like a fog, making it hard for her to concentrate. _Testosterone_ , yuck.

" _Excuse_ me," Allison interrupted the men, tired of being talked about as if she weren't in the room, "I understand you’re not happy with the arrangement Sargent Barnes, but it's happening. I did not sign so many non-disclosures that I had to ice my hand just for you to throw a tantrum and send me home." he looked like he was going to argue so she kicked up her 'juju' as Remy called it. 

"This is happening" she said again, "And you better stop comparing me nannies from the 30's, because that's not what this is going to be. I'm totally more of a Fran Fine type." she was pretty sure he wouldn’t know who that was, but oh well.

"…What?" Her outburst, and abrupt change of topic caught him off guard. _Who the fuck is Fran Fine?_

" _What_ , what?" she asked flippantly, "Back in your day nannies were old, pinched-faced, spinster types; with long wool dresses, rulers and bibles. They made you write lines and hated fun. Do I _look_ like one of those to you sir?"

"…No?" he mumbled, she certainly did not. She was wearing short sequined shorts, with a long white peasant top that had billowy sleeves and hung off one shoulder. Several long gold chains hung around her neck. Long dark hair fell down past her shoulders in messy waves. He could see a couple tattoos as well. Ok so… **not** like the nannies from his youth.

"No," she agreed, "I'm young, and friendly. I'll bake you cookies, and let you drink during the day. I don’t care if you cuss and I'll help you find things you enjoy to keep you occupied. So don’t act _put out_ because your best friend is worried, and hired you a hot babysitter!"

The room was silent.

She grabbed up a journal out of her huge handbag and handed it to him, along with a small packet of papers. 

"The journal is from Sargent James Howlett. He was a Canadian officer you served with in the war. It's for you to write down things you remember. He also suffered through significant memory loss induced by trauma, and wanted you to have this. He said it'll help you keep everything straight." she explained. He looked at the journal, it was very nice- hand crafted and leather bound.

"Now, Captain Rogers said you eat everything, so as far as food goes I’ll wing it." She went on, unbothered by the man's silence. "We can try different things, until you start to develop preferences. Fill that packet out the best you can. It'll give me a good idea of what you like, and don’t as far as everyday things. Like are you an early bird or a night owl? What name do you prefer to go by? When do you like to work out? Do you prefer a solid 8 hours of sleep or a bunch of little naps, Boxers or briefs- that sort of thing." Sam snorted, and Steve looked a little too amused for Bucky's liking. 

"Ok, now that we have this cleared up I'm going to put together a grocery list, make you and Captain Rogers a snack, she said dismissively, "Dr. Banner was right you're too skinny."

Bucky was not sure what to do, he didn’t want her here- he'd said no. Usually he got his way when he told Steve no. Sure Steve would give him the patented 'Captain-America-Is-Disappointed-In-You' look, but he never pressed Bucky for more. This little girl had basically told him 'tuff shit, get over it' and then moved on to making snacks. 

"Sam will you be here awhile?" She asked, "If so I’ll make you some tea."

"Why do I only get tea?" Sam asked amused. He wasn't hungry, actually his lunch had not agreed with him.

"Peppermint tea is good for indigestion" she said and headed towards the kitchen.

Sam paused for a moment then nodded and followed her.

Bucky narrowed his eyes, how had she known Wilson had heartburn? And why were the other two men not bothered by her knowledge.

"She's got powers Buck." Steve said quietly, picking up on the other man's suspicion. "It's nothing dangerous, she can't monkey with your brain, but it'll help her know what you need until you know how to express it."

Bucky was silent, The Soldier was calculating.

"I know this isn't what you want, but it's what you need." Steve continued, "Just give it a try ok? We can reassess in a couple weeks, and if you’re still unhappy we can talk about other options. I really need you to try though."

"Steve did we know a Ms. Turnbuckle?" Bucky asked after a few moments.

"Yeah, you remember her?" Steve was shocked. Bucky had hated that woman.

"I didn’t until her little rant there." Barnes said.

"Yeah," Steve agreed slapping his friend on the shoulder, "It _was_ a frighteningly accurate description: spinster in a wool dress that carried around a bible, and hated fun. She got it to a T." 

"She lived with a girl I used to go with, right?" He asked Steve. Not all his memories were real, HYDRA had placed false ones to fuck with him.

"Yeah, Darlene Runyon, she was a looker." Steve said, "That old biddy used to make her to go confession whenever she saw us 'round. Poor Darlene had hand cramps for weeks from writing scripture after she caught you kissing behind her parents shed." 

"First suck job I ever got," Bucky mumbled, "Her hand cramped up, before I could finish and she felt bad." Steve wasn't sure if he should be amused or embarrassed Bucky remembered that, but he was leaning toward amused. 

"She was mean." Bucky added, "Nothing got past her; had ears like a bat."

"Yeah," Steve agreed, glad that Buck didn’t need confirmation on the blow job memory.

"She hit you with a bible once?" Bucky asked, a little unsure.

"Ah no," Steve said laughing a bit, "She hit _you_ upside the head with her bible. Said it'd knock some of the good Lord's sense into you."

Bucky nodded and looked at the journal thoughtfully.

"It'll help Buck." Steve said handing him a pen, "Jimmy- Sargent Howlett, he knows what it's like. Said he'd be available if you need him, but to be honest he'd probably rather you go a few rounds in the ring verses talking about your feelings."

"Sounds like my kind of guy." Bucky murmured still looking at the journal.

"He was, we were all good friends." Steve agreed, "Maybe once you're up for it he can come over for dinner." 

Bucky nodded and Steve made his way to the kitchen to give the other man some privacy.

Allison had only been there, what, 45 minutes? And she had already calmed Bucky, felt he was hungry, and helped him recover a memory. 

_Maybe this is going to work after all._ Steve hoped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At last they meet! What do we think? Next chapter is almost done, and we'll get to see Allison get to _work_. Poor Bucky, poor sweet, unprepared Bucky. Lol.
> 
> Not sure if anyone noticed but sometimes I just make the most heinous jokes. Were talking puns and Dad jokes here people. Any one catch it?
> 
> Thank you to everyone who left a comment or kudos! I appreciate it.  
> Have a good day!
> 
> Allison's OOTD: http://fashiongum.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Boho-Chic-Bohemian-Style-For-Summer-2015-1.jpg


	5. The Battle and The War

_I have to get rid of her._ Bucky thought watching _Allison_ , putter around the kitchen while Steve and Sam made plans for the day. 

Steve made him agree to try and deal with her, and for the first three days it had been fine. He got to sit in his spot, and she only bothered him when she had food. She didn’t try to make him talk, didn’t try to make him do anything. He'd started to think this nanny thing might not be so bad. As it turns out she had only been giving him time to acclimate to her presence.

The fourth day she'd knocked on his door at 7:30, and told him breakfast was ready. He'd been awake, he always woke early (if he slept at all), but chose to stay in bed until Steve left for his morning run. Bucky did not like running with Steve, and Wilson. He had to leave the apartment, Wilson whined like a little bitch, and Steve smiled at him like Bucky was accomplishing something.

He hadn't heard Steve leave yet, which was abnormal. When at home The Captain kept a strict morning schedule; up at 6:30, out to meet Sam for his run at 7:00. Always. Why was today different? _Allison_

She was sitting with Steve at the table munching on some granola. Both were dressed for a work out. This was not going to bode well for someone, and he had a feeling that someone was him.

"Good morning Buck," Steve greeted, sipping something green from a straw.

"Where is breakfast?" he asked, every morning for the last three days she had a big breakfast waiting for him. It was a welcome change from Steve's poor attempts at cooking. Plus he got to look at Allison. Bucky and The Soldier like looking at her, so did Stevie he's noticed.

Steve and Allison gave each other a _look_. This felt like a trap, The Soldier did not like this, so he took charge.

"Here you go." Allison said handing him a protein bar, and the same green drink Steve had. 

"Don’t look at me like that!" She laughed, he must have made a face since Steve also looked amused. "I'm not trying to starve you, that is just to tide you over until I make your actual breakfast. Working out on a full stomach is not good for you."

"What." he demanded, looking at Steve. 

"You need to get healthy; mind, body, and soul. I thought it would be a good way to start your morning." Allison said, "Steve offered to wait around until you were out of bed. If you want, you can go on a run with him." she offered.

"I don’t like to run." he said hoping that would be the end of it.

"Yeah? Me neither," she smiled- he didn't like that smile. It was a 'you've walked right into my trap' kind of smile-Natasha had it to if he remembered correctly. "I thought I'd do some yoga, you can join me. Did you know Tony has a greenhouse on one of the floors?" 

He shook his head. Bucky only went three places if he could help it: Stark's lab (when absolutely necessary), the common room (when they made him), and Steve's floor.

"It's pretty private, and being around nature might help calm you." she said gesturing for him to start eating. 

"Yoga." he repeated flatly. She was delusional.

"It's like calisthenics," Steve said helpfully.

"I know what Yoga is." Bucky bit out, stuffing the food in his mouth.

"What's the matter then?" Steve asked with a patient tone that kind of irked Bucky.

"I don’t like Yoga." he said resolutely.

"I find it hard to believe you've ever tried it before, but that’s Ok. I'm willing to compromise." Allison said with that fucking smile, "What do you like?"

He was silent.

"No preference? Ok, how about we just go to the gym?" Allison stated, she'd made it _sound_ like a question, but Bucky was pretty sure he wasn't getting a choice. "I can set up my mat down there, and you can piddle around until you find something you like." 

"I don’t feel up for it right now." Bucky said looking at Steve trying to look as tired and tortured as possible. This always worked.

"Why don’t you feel up for it?" Steve asked like he already knew what Bucky was going to say (because he did).

"I didn’t sleep well." He replied. The trump card. Sam had told them early on if Bucky was sleep deprived he shouldn’t push himself. That excuse worked a lot.

"working out will help you," Steve started in a practiced sort of way, "It relieves stress, helps alleviate depression and anxiety, improves memory, helps with sleep deprivation, and boosts your overall mood." That sounded oddly rehearsed…

Bucky narrowed his eyes, had she coached Steve before hand? He glared at her, if his usual excuse didn’t work intimidation would. The Solder's glare always got him his way.

"That's not going to work on me." Allison said holding out a stack of clothes to him, "You’re going to want to change."

He looked at Steve again, the other man just sat there in silent agreement. A united front. Fine, he'd let them have this battle but he was stubborn, and would win in the long run. He'd go to the Gym, but they couldn’t _make_ him work out while he was there. 

"I don’t need to change, this is fine." Bucky said **definitely not pouting**.

"You kind of do." Steve said eyeing him hesitantly.

"Why?" he asked. 

"Well for starters, you've been wearing the same thing for 3 days," Allison said. 

"Just going to get sweaty anyway," he argued, **definitely not stalling** "What's it matter?"

"Fine, I'll be frank- we all know you’re not wearing underwear right now." she said pointedly eyeing his crotch, "And you're too skinny so your sweats don’t look like they'd stay up."

He glared at her silently, he was **definitely not embarrassed**

"You really want to flash everyone your bits and pieces because you’re feeling cantankerous?" she asked, "Be my guest, but we all know Tony would have that video circulating within the hour. Do you really want to hear jokes about the Howling Commando _going_ commando?" she wiggled the stack of clothes at him enticingly.

He snatched the pile out of her arms and left, he was **definitely not blushing**.

When the two of them arrived at the gym she set up her yoga mat and set to stretching. His plan had been to walk around aimlessly, until she was done. He was not working out. Unfortunately every time he started pretending to try a piece of equipment she called him out on it, or asked if that was _all_ he could lift, or unnecessarily offered to help him figure something out- (like he didn’t fucking know what a salmon ladder was). She picked at him and forced him to move on, never letting him just wander. By the time he got to the punching bags he was a little winded and plenty mad. He proceeded to take that anger out on a bag. He was **definitely not out of shape.**

After about half an hour of beating the shit out of a dummy Bucky was sweating rivers before he realized he **definitely _was_ working out**. 

That cunning little chit. She'd lured him into a false sense of security, strategized, recruited an ally, laid out a plan, and executed it to perfection. He never even had a chance, she'd had this war won before it even started.

He turned to find her, only to realize he was alone. When had she left?!

"Jarvis where is she?" he barked at the A.I. It was a computer, so he didn’t have to be nice since it didn’t have feelings. 

"Miss Stills is on your floor with Captain Rogers and Mr. Wilson," JARVIS replied, flatly "I have been instructed to tell you to go up whenever you are finished. Your breakfast will be ready."

The man let out a frustrated growl, and attempted to knocked the head off the dummy, pissed that he'd have to continue going to the gym now. While The Soldier was content to bide his time and wait for assignment, he was _not_ ok with letting their strength, agility, and endurance suffer so Bucky could sit around and be depressed. 

He stormed in to the apartment, and towards the shower. Pointedly ignoring the three assholes sitting in the kitchen eating.

"That actually went well." Sam said after the bathroom door slammed shut, "Good job Allison."

She shrugged and started putting together Bucky's breakfast, trying to get a read on how hungry the man in the shower was. Steve's worry and guilt was making it a little difficult.

"Steve, you have to trust me." she said feeling bad for the man, "This is what he needs right now."

"Tough love man," Sam agreed nodding, "We've let Barnes get away with too much. It's become counter productive."

"I know, and on paper it makes sense," Steve said softly, "But in real life it's just really hard to make him do something he doesn't want to. Hasn’t he had enough of that for one lifetime?"

She could physically feel his guilt, it rolled off him in waves. 

Sam watched Allison set down the spatula, march over, pull Steve out of his chair, and attach herself to him. Steve freeze for a moment, then all but collapsed into the hug. 

"It'll get better," she murmured, trying to push all the comfort and warmth she could onto him, "Just remember to take it one day at time." He nodded and with one final squeeze he let her go.

Bucky came in, freshly washed and feeling a little more human. He sat across from Steve and Sam, and glared at her while ignoring their attempts at conversation. She smiled and handed him his plate. 

He started shoveling food into his mouth. Good, the physical activity had jump started his appetite. She'd been very concerned with how little he ate. 

She'd picked up on his frustration at the gym- not only with her, but himself as well. The first part of her plan was to get him invested in himself again, even if it was just building his strength back. She knew The Soldier in him would balk at his weakness, she counted on it. Plus if he was going to the gym he would start showering regularly. She did _not_ appreciate the funky man smell she'd put up with the last few days. 

The biggest thing she noticed was how absent he was. Physically he would be in the room, but he didn't _do_ anything all day. Just sat in his spot, and waited. She needed to make him present. So step one: active body, that would lead to an active mind. He was depressed and he needed stimulation. 

She could be _plenty_ stimulating.

"Now that you know you have options I figure we can get an earlier start," she said watching him finish the last of his eggs. "You don’t have to hide in your room to avoid Steve anymore."

Bucky froze and stared at her, _She knew?_ he glanced at the other two out of the corner of his eye. Steve looked a little hurt, Wilson looked amused- neither were surprised. _They all knew._

"You weren't fooling anyone Buck." Steve said softly, picking up on Bucky's mild surprise, "I figured you’d come when you felt like it."

"Looks like you just needed a little push." Sam said [un]helpfully.

She started planning their day, for him. First she wanted to finish breakfast, then she wanted to go to the labs. Then she wanted to go see pepper or something, lunch, a documentary, a nap (he rolled his eyes) and then they could start dinner. _They_. He had to help cook.

Why couldn't she just leave him alone? Why did he have to 'get healthy'? What was the point? Steve kept saying Bucky didn’t have to be a weapon anymore, but he was _wrong_. That's _all_ he was- all he knew how to be. Maybe he'd been a person once, but HYDRA had opened him up and hollowed him out. And if someone wasn't going to point him at something and say shoot, he had no purpose. 

Stevie wanted him to make nice with the other Avengers. But Bucky wasn't capable of having relationships with other human beings. He was mean, and angry, and damaged. Who the **fuck** would voluntarily put up with his crazy ass? Who would want a hollow shell who only remember he was a human being some of the time.

It'd taken months but he'd finally got Steve to stop pushing him. Allison was ruining everything. 

"I don’t like you." The Soldier said with menacing growl. 

"I don’t care." she replied unbothered as she started collecting plates, "Do you want more?"

"No." He barked, as his stomach growled loudly. She just smiled and took his plate before making him more food. Bucky crossed his arms and slumped in his chair. 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

"How's Mr. McMurder treating you?" Tony asked gesturing towards the man currently glaring at the floor in the hall. "Hopefully better than he treats JARVIS… and Wilson…and Steve."

"He's having a hard time." she said shooting Bucky a soft look.

"Yeah I keep hearing that, I've been hearing it for months in fact." Tony rolled his eyes. Tony was over the excuses, yeah he under stood the severity of what Bucky had been through but the man wasn't even _pretending_ to try anymore.

"No I mean today, he's having a hard time today." she clarified, "I started enforcing the rules."

Bruce winced in sympathy, and Tony shivered a little. Her first few weeks in the lab had required an… adjustment. Bruce and Tony had been far more headstrong than her current charge. They had questioned and undermined her at every turn, Tony had even been downright disrespectful at times. She was lucky, sure Bucky was scowl-y, and growl-y, and obstinate at times, he mostly did what she asked. She wasn’t sure if that was Steve's doing, or a part of his conditioning. 

Bucky stood in the hall glaring at his shoes. He refused to go in and chat. If she wanted to drag him around this fucking tower like a dog on a leash that was on her, but he didn’t have to be friendly. After breakfast they had gone to see Pepper. The two women shot the shit while he stared out the window. After that they'd ate lunch, then brought some food to the labs as a late lunch for Stark and Banner. She'd been talking to the other men for an hour, he kept feeling their eyes on him. 

He clocked movement from the corner of his eye and looked up to see Stark leaving Banner and Allison. Hopefully this meant they'd leave soon; being near the labs made him uneasy. 

"She's almost done." The other man said, trying to break the silence.

"Thanks." Barnes said flatly, hoping to God the other man would just keep walking.

"Just some advice Barnes," Tony said before leaving, "From one difficult human being to another. She wins. You can fight it, can try to be as obstinate as possible, but she always wins."

 _Great._  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for your lovely comments and Kudos!
> 
> What did you think?


	6. Unarmed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I went back and added a bit to the previous chapter. Its at the end, just didn’t like where this chapter was picking up. Maybe go check it out before reading this one?

After two weeks it became apparent that Stark had been right; Allison always won. Despite Bucky's scathing comments, and bad attitude she never backed down, never let him get to her. He'd gotten used to her and the daily routine, and begrudgingly admitted [to himself only] that he liked having something to do. The Soldier also liked regimen. His day usually started with breakfast, and the gym. Afternoons consisted of whatever bullshit activates she'd planned (going to the green house, watching a movie, etc.), lunch, and taking lunch to the lab. Then he got some free time to do as he pleased before they started dinner and ate with Steve (and sometimes Wilson).

He was currently watching her make lunch. He only had to help with dinners. Bucky didn't mind it so much, he usually only had to cut stuff, and he really enjoyed fucking with Stevie. The first night the blonde walked in to see Allison and Bucky side by side. He'd paused at the sight of the former assassin wielding a large knife next to the delicate empath. Steve wasn’t very subtly with his unease. The next night Bucky made sure Steve caught him casually flipping the knife around, after Steve got used to that he "caught" Bucky looking at Allison while stroking the knife blade. He knew it was really getting to Steve when he questioned the "safety of the situation" with his Captain voice. Allison had been dismissive, stating that out of the two of them, even with the fancy flips, Bucky was still less likely to cut his finger off than she was. Bucky knew Steve wasn't concerned with Bucky cutting himself as much as her. He was pretty sure Allison knew that to. 

"Miss. Stills," JARVIS called, "I have a Mr. Summers on hold for you. He says it's urgent."

"Oh!" she exclaimed, quickly packing the scientist's lunches in a bag. "Thank you JARVIS, can you rout it to my room?"

"Yes, Miss. Stills." the AI replied.

"Bucky do you think you can take these down to the lab for Brue and Tony?" she asked sweetly, despite knowing he would say no.

"It's not your job to feed them." he said crossing his arms stubbornly.

"Ok, fine." she sighed, she did not love having this conversation, and did not have time for it right now. "You can have one veto. No questions asked." 

She had taken to giving him vetos as a way to bribe him. He got to use the veto to get out of what ever activity she had planned, no questions asked. He stared at her for a moment before grabbing the bag and walking out. Had he known what a fucking shit show would result, Bucky never would have agreed.

The plan _had_ been to leave lunch with Banner and jet, but no one was in his lab. A loud explosion shook the floor, Bucky sighed. _Fucking scientists_. He made his way to Stark's lab, intending to put the food outside the door, walk away, and have JARVIS tell them after he was back on the elevator. Perfect plan. It might have worked if there hadn't been another explosion just as he was setting the bag down. Bucky felt a wave of energy, and then his left arm became completely unresponsive.

_Son of a bitch._

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

JARVIS only got as far as 'There has been an incident' before she was sprinting to the elevator. She knew something was wrong when he didn’t come back right away. A part of her hoped he was chatting with Banner or something, but the longer it took, the more she worried.

"Anthony Edward Stark what did you do?!" she demanded walking into the lab. Bucky was stiffly sitting on an exam table while Bruce was taking vitals, and Tony was eating a sandwich and fiddling with a tablet.

"It wasn't my fault!" he said with his mouth full.

"Do _not_ lie to me." she snapped grabbing the sandwich out of his hand.

"We had an experiment go a little south," Bruce explained, trying to calm the woman. "Essentially it shot out an EMP that appears to have disabled Sargent Barnes' arm."

"Fix it now." she demanded looking at Tony.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" he asked incredulously. 

"Eating Dr. Banners lunch, and fiddling around on YouTube." she answered.

"Ok- yes, but only because I'm waiting for some data to run first." Tony said dismissively.

She squinted, something was wrong here. Tony was very easy to read, and it was becoming clear that he was hiding something from her. She just needed to figure out what. 

"What were you working on?" she asked casually.

"Security…" Tony mumbled not meeting her eyes. _Bingo_

"You're lying," she scowled at the man, "Or, at the very least, you're not telling me the whole truth." 

Tony sputtered for a moment before Bruce spoke up.

"He was working on a small portable EMP for you." Bruce said, "Something to disable the Sargent's arm incase you were ever in distress."

"What?!" she demanded, "How dare you-"

"It's a good idea." Bucky said decisively while cutting off Allison's rant, all three of the other occupants looked at him doubtfully. "We need to get Steve down here."

"Captain Rogers has been alerted, and is on his way." JARVIS supplied helpfully. 

"What are you talking about?" Allison asked Bucky, 

"Steve keeps telling me that you’re not going anywhere." Bucky sighed, "The longer you’re around me the more likely it is you'll meet The Soldier. Having a way to slow me down is a good idea."

Stark and Banner both looked impressed with his support, but Allison looked torn. She had that look on her face that Wilson gets when he tries to made Bucky talk about feelings. Luckily whatever she was going to say was cut off by Steve's entrance. Bucky was getting antsy waiting down in the lab so it was decided they'd go back to the floor to eat, and come back later that afternoon when Tony was ready.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Allison needed to figure out a better plan for Bucky. Tony was setting up, while Bucky was lying on a table completely still. Steve was there for moral support, and back up should The Soldier make an appearance. Bucky was not well. On the outside he was silent, his jaw was clenched, and beads of sweat were starting to form along his hair line. Internally he was a mess, she could feel his panic, fear, and rage so strongly she could taste it. He was fighting a flashback, and they hadn’t even started yet. Even with her juju at full blast Bucky was still struggling. Tony switched on a drill to test power and Bucky violently flinched.

"Stop," she said, "This isn't working."

"And what do you suggest sweetheart." Bucky barked out contempt lacing his words, "I just never use my arm again?" He could get though this. He had before, and he didn’t need her prolonging it to talk about his feelings. He also didn’t need Stark knowing just how uneasy he was in here, just how close The Soldier was to emerging. If he knew Stark would never help him again.

"Go take a walk Buck." Steve commanded, hoping it would help the other man unwind a bit, "Do you have another idea?" he asked after Bucky stormed out to pace in the hall.

She looked around the room, desperate for an idea. She caught sight of Tony's calendar. This month there was a buxom blonde spread out on the hood of a mustang. The scantily clad young woman smiled enticingly. Allison hated that calendar, she had told Tony it belonged in a chop shop, not a laborat- _a chop-shop_?

"I do," she said surprised, "He can't handle a scientist in a laboratory, but what about a mechanic in a garage?"

Steve and Tony looked at her blankly.

"Am I the only one not following here?" Tony asked after a moment.

"Grab what you need from here, take the freight elevator down to and meet us in the garage." she said on her way out of the lab. They watched her grab Bucky's right arm and pull him to the elevator.

"She's a genius." Tony said after a moment, "How did _I_ not come up with this?"

"Come up with what?" Steve asked as Tony started loading gadgets into his arms.

"His issue is with the lab, so take the boy out of the lab!" Tony said excitedly, this was going to make routine maintenance _so_ much easier if it worked.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

"Where are we going?" Bucky asked, a little nicer now that he wasn't actively fighting the urge to snap everyone's necks and run away.

"To calm you down a bit then try again." she said, "Do you like cars?"

He shot her a look, was this another trick? It was usually a trick. He did like cars- or he thought he did at one point. Maybe he'd wanted to a mechanic as a kid? Or had he hung out at a garage? The details were fuzzy, but he definitely remember liking cars.

"Tony has a whole floor just below his garage full of Howard's old cars." she went on, "The man is basically a glorified mechanic."

The elevator opened up to a parking lot full of vintage luxury cars. It was beautiful. They walked around for a bit just admiring the craftsmanship in silence when he caught sight of a jazzed up 1933 Bugatti Royale- he let out a whistle as they walked towards it.

"One of the supers from the old neighborhood had one of these." He murmured, "We'd all line the streets when he came 'round. Rich son of a bitch paid Stevie $20.00 to draw it once."

He wished he had his notebook to write that down. Logan's journal had been great. So helpful in fact he had asked JARVIS to send the man a box of expensive cigars. 

She watched him make the rounds until JARVIS alerted them Tony was ready. Bucky tensed up, but was surprised when the elevator only took them one floor up.

"What's happening?" he asked, uneasy with the change in plans.

"We're taking you in for a tune up." she smiled, "This is where Tony tinkers with, and keeps his cars. Just like the floor below it has access to a lift just for the cars and a private exit. Maybe if you're nice he'll take you on a ride." She was teasing him, she did that a lot. He didn’t _hate_ it.

Bucky took in the garage. Tool boxes lined the wall, and it smelled like rubber, and gasoline. It was darker, and a little dirty. There was no antiseptic sterile smell, no bright lights, no lab coats, no flashbacks. Tony had an office chair for him to sit in, and a small metal table for his arm, not a slab for him to lay down on. This was much better. He sat down Tony went started to work. For once he wasn't mad that Allison was right.

Allison was picking up no panic from the traumatized veteran. In fact, the most uncomfortable person was Tony. Steve was hovering over his shoulder. They were about 10 min in and Tony was stressing out, while Bucky was starting to get annoyed, because when Tony was nervous, he rambled.

"I could sup this thing up if you wanted." Tony offered, 

"What do you mean?" Bucky asked.

"I could put a repulsor in there, or a rocket," Tony said, "Or maybe make it vibrate." he winked and wiggled his eyebrows." 

Bucky snorted, and Steve blushed.

"OH!" Tony exclaimed catching Steve's embarrassment, "I didn’t think you’d know what I was talking about! Have we been catching up-"

"Tony he's not a nun!" Allison scolded, "Come on Steve, lets go key some of his cars."

She needed to get Steve out of there. It would calm Tony, and in turn Bucky, and also save the man from being the butt of Tony's jokes.

"Like the boy scout would ever let you key my car." Tony scoffed, Bucky chuckled.

"Let's go," she said looping her arm though Steve's, "We don’t have to take this. Let me show you the car Bucky was drooling on."

"You better not have actually drooled on anything," Steve heard Tony warn as he let Allison lead him away.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Steve was impressed with Tony's collection. She walked him over to the Bugatti and he confirmed Bucky's memory. She'd make sure to tell Bucky later. Steve was giving off a sad sort of nostalgia.

"It's old." he said a little sadly, "Just like us… an antique."

"Vintage." she corrected, winking "Something old, but still in style."

He chucked and walked around a bit more before catching sight of a familiar car. She felt his joy as he let out a whistle similar to what Bucky had done. _Boys and their cars_ she mused.

"1937 Delahaye Roadster." Steve said grinning, "Saw a couple in the war over in Europe."

"Did anyone let Captain America take one out for a test drive?" she asked quietly testing the handle to see if it was unlocked. It was.

"Nah, they were always wrecked up." he explained, "Always wanted to though. Talked about buying one, after you know?"

"Wana' take it for a spin?" she asked grinning as she opened the door and slid into the passenger seat.

"I bet you he's still explaining why drool would ruin the paint to Bucky," Steve laughed, "He's not going to let us take it out." 

"Easier to ask forgiveness than permission." She said leaning over to opened the door for him.

"No keys." he remarked climbing in anyway.

"Who needs keys?" she asked before leaning over his lap and monkeying around under the steering wheel. 

Steve stiffened, trying not to feel anything untoward. While he was used to working, and living with beautiful women, none of them were as open and warm as Allison. Steve had been trying _very_ hard to ignore his attraction to the woman. Some days, like today, it was impossible. The woman was gorgeous, and smart, and funny, and patient, and firm, but also kind. She was tactile, and always seemed to be touching him, Bucky, Sam, Tony, _him_. Steve and Bucky had also both become big fans of her wardrobe. It was unique, sexy, and interesting. Today she was wearing a black tank top, with a linen skirt that had woven detailing on it. Her midriff was a little exposed, but nothing he'd complain about. She had fewer accessories today; only a couple of rings, bracelets, and a necklace. Said necklace was currently trailing along his thigh as she hotwired the car.

She gave the ok, and he started the car. 

"He's going to kill us." Steve grinned enjoying the purr of the engine. They pulled out of the parking spot and into the open and waiting car lift.

"Thanks JARVIS," she called out.

"We aim to please Miss. Stills." the AI said, "Do try to bring it back in one piece, it is one of Sir's favorites."

She cheered as Steve gunned it out of the garage exit and on to the street.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

They'd been gone for about two hours. Steve had taken them out of the city to "really test her out on the back roads". She was having a blast, and Steve was carefree for the first time since she'd arrived.

Steve was speeding down a back road when they noticed flashing lights in the rearview mirror. She groaned as Steve pulled over.

"Too bad I'm not driving," she murmured, "Or wearing a more revealing top."

Her concerns were for naught, it turned out Steve Rogers could talk his way out of a ticket like it was his job. He didn’t even really have to play the 'Captain America' card either!

She started applauding as soon as the cop was out of earshot.

"What?" Steve asked innocently.

"Oh nothing," she laughed, "Here I was trying to figure a way to have a wardrobe malfunction to get out of a ticket and you flirted yourself right out of that!"

"I didn’t flirt." he laughed.

"Oh ok," she scoffed, "I'm on to your shtick fella." 

"What do you mean?" he asked pulling back onto the road.

"The whole innocent act," she elaborated, "The puppy dog eyes, the 'America's Golden Boy' bologna." 

"I let people think what they want," he grinned at her, "And if it works to my advantage, who am I to question it?"

"I'm floored Tony hasn’t picked up on it yet." she remarked.

"I don’t think he puts much stock in me as much as Captain America." Steve mumbled.

"That’s not true," she scoffed loudly, "He respects the hell out of you Steve. He's a poster child for daddy issues, and you fit the bill of male authority figure to a T."

Steve shot her a skeptical look.

"Trust me Steven." she said, taking his hand in hers. "He _really_ cares about your opinion. Just remember to toss him a complement when he deserves it, ok?"

"Ok." he answered squeezing her hand gently.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Tony was waiting when they got back.

"You stole my car?!" The man asked. He was equal parts shocked, and angry.

"Not such a boy scout now is he?" She teased the older man.

"You're a bad influence Miss. Stills." Tony scolded playfully, "Talking America's Golden Boy into stealing a car, you should be ashamed."

"Who said I had to talk him into it?" she asked, enjoying Tony's sputtering for a moment.

"How did it go with Bucky?" Steve asked changing the subject.

"Great actually," Tony said, "Good idea Allison."

"I really appreciate you Tony," Steve said sincerely, patting the man's shoulder, "No one else could have done this, and it means a lot. You're a good man, and a good friend- weather you like it or not."

Tony scoffed and mumbled about sentiment, but Allison felt his happiness. He was practically preening from the praise. She smiled at Steve. _Good boy._

Allison, kissed both men on the cheek before heading up to check her charge.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

"Bucky?" she called walking into the apartment, "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine." he said from the living room.

"I'm glad," she said relieved, "He fixed it? Everything is working again?"

Bucky nodded.

"I'm so glad." she sighed sitting across from him, "I'm sorry you got caught up in that mess. I'm going to talk to them about boundaries."

"You didn’t have to get mad about it." he said awkwardly, he didn’t need her mucking up her friendship because of him.

"Why wouldn’t I be mad?" she asked, "They broke your arm, we're lucky Tony could fix it. Plus you're my friend-"

"I'm not your friend," he snapped, "We pay you, I'm your John."

"Someday Bucky Barnes, you are going to regret being an asshole to me." she said after a moment of silence, "You've had a hard day, so I'll let you out of helping with dinner." 

"That didn’t feel as satisfying as I thought it would." he murmured to himself after she left the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woof, that was a hard chapter to finish, not sure why tbh. Any-whoozers thanks for your comments and kudos, I appreciate them!  
> :D Have a good day,  
> -A
> 
>  
> 
> Visuals:  
> Allison's OOTD: http://www.lovethispic.com/uploaded_images/153950-Boho-Fashion.jpg  
> Bucky's Car: http://cdn.johnywheels.com/2015/11/15/bugattitype41royale-l-085746361d8a5825.jpg  
> Steve's Car: https://assets.blog.hemmings.com/wp-content/uploads//2014/03/AM14_r148_031.jpg


	7. Joie De Vivre

"Gentlemen we have a problem." Allison said walking into the common room. Steve was sketching, and Sam was playing a game on his tablet.

"What's wrong?" Steve asked, "Where is Bucky?"

"He went to the gym." she dismissed.

"Ok, then what's up?" Sam asked.

"Bucky doesn't masturbate." Allison said matter of factly.

Sam sputtered, and Steve looked a little exasperated.

"Why do you know this?" Sam asked.

"Empath." She said flatly shooting him a look.

"You can tell that?!" He asked a bit alarmed, "Isn't that an invasion of privacy?"

"Yes, I can 'tell that', " she replied calmly, "And no I don’t think it'd be an invasion of privacy unless I went around telling people how you get-"

"Ok, Ok" he interrupted her, "We're not discussing me here."

"Isn’t that normal?" Steve asked, "He's not really…in the right place to…want to…do that right?"

"He gets aroused," she said, "Actually in the last few weeks, since he's started coming out of his funk, I frequently pick up on his arousal and frustrated."

"You think he can't?" Steve asked, "Part of the conditioning?" She nodded.

"Probably a control thing," Sam agreed, 

"So what do we do?" Steve wondered aloud, "It's not a conversation he'll want to have with any of us."

"I could have some porn mysteriously show up in his room." she said, "Maybe that'll get him going. What were his preferences?"

"I don’t, I mean…I'm not-" Steve sputtered, not comfortable talking about his best friend's sexual preferences, "He liked…he wasn't picky."

"Men, women?" she pressed. 

"Ah…both." Steve said quietly, still not used to this century's openness.

Sam's jaw dropped, while Allison just nodded like she already figured that out.

"I think," Steve cleared his throat, "I think we should let him deal with that on his own."

"What if JARVIS can accidently have a sexy website pop up while he's alone or something." she offered.

"We should not be interfering in any way here Allison." Steve said firmly.

"I agree," Sam said siding with the Captain.

"Agree with what?" Bucky asked walking into the room. No one answered, "I know I'm not the most socially conscious man, but even I can tell there is tension here."

"I have to be certified with a firearm, and I want you to train me." She covered quickly, "Captain Rogers seems to have a problem."

"You're _damn_ right I do." Steve cursed, while he was glad for her save, he did not appreciate this being sprung on him. No way was Bucky going to be near her and a firearm. Steve just stopped having nightmares about Bucky fileting her with a kitchen knife.

"Would you be willing to instruct me?" she asked Bucky pointedly ignoring Steve.

"We can start tomorrow." he agreed, mostly to get at Stevie.

"Thank you," she smiled gratefully at him.

"This is not happening!" Steve sputtered.

"We're done arguing about this," she sassed walking out of the room, "Bucky will you help me with dinner after your shower?".

"Sure thing." Bucky agreed followed after her and smirking at Steve.

"That woman is a tactical genius." Sam said in awe, "You think Xavier teaches strategizing as a course?".

Steve just sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

"Hey Hawk-Guy," Allison called into the common floor that evening, "Can we chat?"

"Busy." Clint called, he was watching dog cops.

"I have brownies." she tempted waving a plate at him enticingly.

"What do you want?" he asked pausing the TV and eyeing the plate cautiously. 

"I need a favor, Hill says I have to qualify as proficient with a fire arm if I'm to be Bucky's handler." she said flatly, "To be honest I didn’t know I'd dislike a term more than nanny, but handler takes the cake."

"And you want me to teach you how to shoot?" he asked, ego inflating just a little.

"No, Bucky agreed to teach me." she said, not commenting on the slump of his shoulders, "I would however like if you just happened to be in the range while we were there."

"Why?" he asked curiously. He was going to be, no way he'd leave Barnes alone with a loaded weapon without supervision. 

"I'm pretty calming, but I'm not sure how much I trust my juju if he had a moment in the gun range." she admitted a little meekly.

"That’s…very smart of you." Clint said slowly.

"Why do you sound so surprised?" she asked equal parts amused and offended.

"You voluntarily hang out with an infamous assassin prone to memory lapses and panic attacks. " he pointed out, taking the plate from her, "I just assume you have no sense of self preservation."

"You're one to talk," she scoffed, "This is a recovering trauma victim being presented with a firearm for the first time since he was on the run from HYDRA. I think this is a situation where being cautious is more than justifiable."

"Why not ask Steve if you’re concerned?" Clint was curious.

"He'll hover," she said dismissively, "That will stress Bucky out."

"I'll be there." he agreed through a mouth full of brownie.

"In the room, not in the vents." she directed.

"Why?" he asked a little exasperated. She was just as bossy as Nat, good thing the red-head didn’t like her. Together they'd run the planet.

"I think, he’ll be more comfortable knowing someone is there incase he _does_ have a moment." She confided.

"Sure thing boss." Clint agreed, he wasn't one for sentiment, but he admired Bucky. He knew what it was like to have someone tinker in your brain, make you do things against your will. Barnes had been through hell, and hadn't given up. Sure he's depressed, but he didn’t give up, didn’t off himself. So Clint may not trust the man (yet), but he certainly respected the hell out of him. Plus Barnes was a wicked shot, and if there was anything Clint could appreciate it was that. Maybe he could ask about JKF, and how had he pulled off the second shooter thing? Was it too soon? Yeah probably too soon.

"Thanks buddy," she smiled, "I'll see you at the range at 8:00."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Bucky was getting frustrated. They'd been to the range every day for a week, and she still was not improving. In fact, she was getting worse. He was trying to calmly explain the importance of stance _again_ with out losing his patients. It was a challenge.

She lined her shot up, and missed spectacularly. He turned away and took a few deep breaths before meeting The Archer's eye. Barton shot him a sympathetic look. Bucky wasn't stupid, he knew it was no coincidence Barton was here _every_ time they were in the range. He appreciated it. He was just starting to like his nanny, he'd hate to snap now.

"Do you have any suggestions?" he called to the other man.

"Hire her a body guard." Clint snickered walking over, "That’s the only way Hill would let her off without passing the test."

They weren't sure how it happened, but in all the direction from the two sharpshooters she managed to get her hand caught in the hammer of the gun. There had been a lot of cursing, and more blood than she was comfortable with. Bucky helped wrap her hand, while Clint cleaned the gun. 

"This may need a stitch or two." Bucky murmured.

"I'll go see Bruce," she sighed, waving off the offer for an escort. 

"You good?" Clint asked after she left.

"Yeah," He said picking up one of the hand guns, "But I need to shoot something after that." Bucky took his frustration out on a target. 

"You know if you're interested I can get us clearance to go to the long range," Clint offered after a few minuets, "I have access to the big secret guns."

"I'd like that." Bucky said after a moment.

"Give me two days." Clint grinned.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

"Oh… _wow_." Sam admired Allison from across the SHIELD cafeteria.

"Yeah." Clint sighed a little, "She reminds me of the girl I lost my virginity to."

"Really?" Sam asked skeptically. He could only imagine Clint with SHIELD types like Bobbi, or Natasha.

"Mhm," The archer replied lost in a memory, "She was one of the fortune tellers at the carnival."

"Is it on purpose?" Sam asked Steve trying to be subtle. 

"Yep," Steve replied stiffly. 

"Got to admit the girl gets results." Clint offered catching Bucky's frank approval from across the room.

"They told you the plan?" Sam asked surprised Steve would say anything.

"She's taken to sunbathing while at the long range." Steve said, "I had to warn him."

Since Steve nixed slipping Bucky porn, Allison had taken to wearing more revealing clothes to undermine his decision. He would have put a stop to it, but it was working. That morning they had both come back from working out to find her cooking breakfast in a short silky floral robe, black underwear just barley visible though the silk. It was provocative, but tasteful. When she opened the freezer there was no missing her body's response to the cold. The former assassin met his eye with a grin he hadn’t seen since the 30's. 

"A hot girl in a bikini, and guns." Clint grinned, "She knows her mark."

"Nice." Sam nodded. 

"Is it?" Steve scoffed, "She can tell you know?"

As soon as he said it Allison looked over. He wasn't sure if she felt their gaze, or their emotions. Steve ducked his head blushing, and Sam pretended to read his soda, and Clint grinned and waved. She smiled and rolled her eyes.

"Ok, yeah I get you." Sam laughed, "That’s unnerving."

"I mean at least we can say she's actually asking for it?" Clint supplied 

"Yeah but we shouldn’t" Sam countered.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Bucky sat waiting for Alison to come back, she had a meeting this morning. He decided today he was making her go back to the range. It had been almost two weeks after Allison's injury. While Clint and Bucky had continued with their time in the range, usually at least once a day, Allison had neglected to show up unless they went off site to the long range. Gun shy.

"You smell like gun powder." he said a few moment after she walked in. Had she continued her training with someone else? Clint maybe? And why did he feel…upset about it?

"I had my test today." She said carefully watching him, "I passed."

"You set it up." Bucky stated after a moment, gesturing to the healing wound on her hand, "You know how to shoot."

"I have a non-offensive/non-defensive mutation, and I lived with the X-men. You think Logan and Scott didn’t teach me every self-defense strategy possible?" she asked skeptically, "I could kill you with a pencil."

He looked at her flatly.

"Ok, well maybe not _you_ but the point still stands." she amended.

"You lied," he accused, not sure if he was mad or not.

"Technically I didn't, Hill did tell me I had to take a firearm proficiency test," she said a little guilty, "I just didn’t tell anyone I was already certified."

"Steve says lying by omission, is still lying." he quoted.

"You have a friend now that isn't Steve." she said, "So I'm not sorry."

"I thought you said _you_ were my friend." He sassed feeling a little argumentative.

"I did," she agreed, "And you said I wasn't because they paid me to hang out with you, and I believe you eluded to me being a prostitute."

Bucky stayed quiet as she walked to the kitchen to start dinner. Fuck. He was probably going to have to apologize for that.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

"JARVIS, can you send me a little alert when Captain Rogers arrives on the floor?" Allison asked later that night.

"Yes Miss. Stills." The AI replied.

She thanked him and started quickly putting away her dinner ingredients. This was good, this was very good. She had to make sure Steve didn’t interrupt though. It wasn't even five minuets later when a soft chime sounded in the kitchen.

Allison grabbed her purse and locked the door behind her. Steve was half way down the hall and she grabbed his arm and started walking him back towards the elevator.

"Umm…Allison?" Steve asked hesitantly.

"I don’t feel like cooking lets go get something." She said dismissively, "How was your day?"

"Where is Bucky?" he wondered.

"He's busy, we can bring food back." she said a little too nonchalantly, "Chinese? Or maybe pizza- you said there was a good pizza place in Brooklyn right?"

"What's going on?" Steve asked using the 'Captain' voice.

"Bucky is…experimenting with himself," she replied delicately, "…sexually."

"Oh geeze." Steve mumbled rubbing the bridge of his nose "And the apartment has to be empty?"

"I didn’t want us to interrupt him!" She defended.

"So we have to leave the tower?" Steve asked, a little disappointed. Tonight was lasagna he's been looking forward to it all day.

"No offence, but I felt like you'd be a boner killer." she grinned.

"I don’t _want_ to be offended about that statement, but I kind of am." Steve chuckled walking into the garage.

"I meant for Bucky." she clarified grinning.

"So I'm not a boner killer?" he asked earnestly, with big innocent eyes. She scoffed at the act, and he chuckled while opening her door.

"Open your eyes Steve," she smiled "You could have your pick of men and women in this tower." 

"Men and women?" he asked curiously, "How'd you know?"

"It's pretty easy for me to tell." she replied softly, "I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. Sometimes I put my foot in my mouth." 

"You didn't," he assured her, "I'm still not used to how open everything is now-a-days."

"Your secret is safe with me." she winked. "I have been wondering about the whole 'on your right' thing though." 

"I was flirting," he confirmed chuckling, "But Sam's straight as an arrow, and I'm lucky to count him among my best friends."

"His loss." she said.

"Any chance you're among those men and women you mentioned earlier?" he fished.

"I'd be blind, def, and dumb not to be." She grinned.

"So…could this be a date?" he asked.

"No," she said, "Absolutely not, what would we tell the kids?"

"Aww come on," he laughed, "It'd be a great meet cute story. Mommy forced Daddy to leave the tower and he got a pity date out of it, all the while Uncle Bucky was masturbating for the first time in 70 years in the shower."

They laughed at the ridiculous situation.

"It would never work Steve," she said wiping tears from her eyes, "I am not wearing my lucky first date underwear."

He really tried not to imagine what those would look like, but judging by her grin she knew he was unsuccessful.

"But of I asked?" he wondered aloud.

"You never know 'till you try." she teased winking, "You better not wait long Rogers. I'm a catch."

 _You're not wrong_ he thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the absence Ladies and Gents!  
> I've got a bit of writers block I'm trying to work through.  
> Let me know what you think!


	8. Bucky Makes Nice

"You two are up early." Steve said, walking in to the kitchen where Allison, and Bucky were eating. Well Bucky was eating, Allison was practically falling asleep at the table. "Must be going to the range today." he guessed while swiping a piece of Bucky's bacon.

"Gun day." Allison confirmed tiredly, "The boys are very excited, they get to shoot some experimental gun today."

"Experimental?" Steve asked.

"Barton got access to-" Bucky started only for Allison to interrupt.

"No! I can't hear any more about this gun." She huffed grabbing her bag and walking out of the apartment, "Clint is waiting, I'll meet you down there."

"What was that about?" Steve asked turning to Bucky 

"We _have_ been talking a lot about the gun." Bucky conceded.

Steve looked at him skeptically, it took a lot more to get under Allison's skin than some enthusiastic gun talk. She should be happy Bucky was showing an interest in something other than breathing. 

"Keep an eye on her ok?" Steve asked.

"Sure thing." Bucky agreed before gathering his bag and heading down to the garage to meet them.

He could hear the other man tormenting Allison with more gun talk as he made his way closer to the car. Clint got about three puns in before the young woman snapped.

"Oh come on Allison." Clint said flexing a bit as he opened her door "You should know I'm always **armed** with a good pun."

"Clint I can’t with you today." Allison murmured tiredly.

"Aww, no need to get frustrated, and storm off **halfcocked**." Clint went on.

"Honestly Clint, I know you think no one is up to your **caliber** with puns, but you do a pretty **shot** -ie job." Bucky deadpanned.

It was only silent for a moment before Clint burst out laughing.

"Oh man, I need you to go back to being mean" Clint sighed, "I'm supposed to be the witty one."

"Pretty sure Tony is the witty one." Allison said from the back. 

"Rude." Clint scolded, "Remind me next time to leave earlier to avoid these idiots!" The man said while honking at a few security vehicles blocking the garage exit.

"What's with all the suits?" Bucky asked.

"That’s Pepper's motorcade." Clint griped, "You’d think Tony could afford a detail that knows how to drive!"

"Thought they had Hogan for that?" Bucky asked.

"Pepper got mugged a few days ago," Clint explained while rolling down the window to make rude hand gestures at the men, "The guy took off with her grandmother's necklace. She's pretty traumatized, so Tony paid for these morons." 

"Didn’t you notice the security when we had brunch yesterday?" Allison asked.

"Thought it was for me." Bucky said thoughtfully.

"Why would it be for you?" Clint scoffed.

"You know, ever since the **armed** robbery, people just don’t look at me the same." Bucky smirked.

"Fucking shit," Clint chuckled, "Now _I_ have to be the mean one."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

"Hey Bub," Logan greeted gruffly over the phone, "Everything ok? Your text was kind of vague."

He proceeded to tell Logan about the changes he'd noticed in Allison over the last two weeks. The girl was clearly sleep deprived, distant, a little scattered. He was going to keep out of it but after she snapped at Bucky this morning he was concerned. He didn’t want her hindering the progress Bucky had made.

"It's probably Michael." a woman said from the background. Logan barked at, whoever it was, to leave.

"Who's Michael?" Steve asked after Logan's little rant about privacy at a high school.

Logan sighed, annoyed at the topic. After a few moments of silence it was clear he was reluctant to divulge any details.

"If it's affecting her progress with Bucky I need to know." Steve said.

"It was a…client of hers, one-on-one kind of." Logan finally conceded, He hesitated before adding, "Got out of her control, and went south."

Steve waited patiently for more details.

"Guy ended up offing himself." Logan finally said, "It's followed her in more than one way."

"Ok," Steve said, "Anything I can do to help?"

"Just make sure she's trying to sleep, and absolutely do not let her take on any more." Logan said, "Barnes is a tough one, I'd imagine there's a lot involved with his care." 

"You think she'd take on more than Bucky?" Steve asked bewildered. He knew how much she'd put into Bucky's rehabilitation. There was no way she could devote herself to that kind of degree and manage more clients.

"The girls got a bleeding heart, and a perpetually empty wallet." Logan explained, "Plus she's like a magnet for damaged assholes like us."

_Noted_

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Allison was laying out at the range relaxing with her earplugs in when a shadow blocked her sun. She ignored them until the boot nudged her side. The Widow wanted her attention, which was new. Normally the woman kept her distance.

"They aren't watching you know." Nat said motioning to the grown men currently acting like two little boys. They were setting up what could only have been described as a cross between a firework launcher, and a bazooka.

"Yeah, they have a new toy, and I like my eyebrows. So I'll stay over here thank you very much." Allison replied, brushing off the insinuation she was looking for attention. To the Widow's credit Allison _had_ been flaunting her body the last few weeks. Natasha didn’t know it was part of Allison's rehab plan.

She sat up, mourning the loss of her alone time, and resigning herself to bring up something she'd been meaning to ask. Allison got up and followed the red head to the box. 

"Since you're here, I do have a question for you." Allison said hopping up on the counter, "Can you help Bucky with his hand-to-hand?"

"What, you're not going to pretend you need my help first, then brush me off on Barnes?" Natasha asked flatly. Referring to the little trick she'd played with James, and Clint.

"You don’t know me very well, but I'm not stupid." Allison smiled, "You don’t seem the type to take well to being manipulated."

"Barnes doesn’t need help with hand-to-hand." Nat dismissed, "He's got Steve for that."

"Steve pulls his punches," She explained, "Eventually Bucky will want back in the field. He won't get there with a soft touch, and he's to insecure to mention it to Steve."

"He's a super soldier." Nat said while realigning her sights, "Why do you think I could help?".

"That's not a no." Allison chuckled, "You’re pretty much enhanced right? Plus Bucky trained you. I have every faith in your capability, and so do you."

"0600 in the gym tomorrow." Nat said before unloading the clip.

_Perfect._

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

"What are you doing here?" Bucky asked Steve surprised to see him in the kitchen the next morning.

"Umm…eating breakfast?" Steve answered, confused at the question.

"Allison said I was late for sparing." Bucky explained, "But you’re here."

"You are late," the woman called from the front door, "Now come on! I don’t expect Natasha will appreciate tardiness."

"Natasha?" Both men asked.

"She's helping you out with…stuff." Allison sighed a little impatiently.

"Steve spars with me." Bucky said uneasily. He did not like having his routine messed up.

"And Natasha will push you without feeling guilty about it." Allison replied, too tired to sugarcoat anything.

"I'll hurt he-" Bucky started to protest.

"No you won't, she's the Black Widow, and you trained her." Allison snapped, "Now march soldier, you’re five minutes late!"

"I don’t kn-" Bucky started to argue.

"I said march," she insisted opening the door and pointing, clearly not in the mood to fight about it.

"It's a good idea," Steve said nodding to the door, "I'll be down just in case ok?"

Bucky nodded skeptically before heading past Allison and towards the elevator.

"You've been… tired lately," Steve said quietly, hoping she'd come clean about being up all night. "Everything ok?"

"Yeah, everything is fine." she dismissed.

"If you say so," Steve said skeptically. He'd come out a couple of times last night to check on her and heard her talking with someone each time. He couldn’t make out much, but there had been crying he was sure of it.

"Let's go," Allison insisted, "I want to see if she'll make him do laps for being late or something."

Steve chuckled while following her out. He'd figure out how to bring it up later.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Bucky sat back relaxing in the sunshine on the patio nursing a beer. It was a beautiful day outside, so they'd gone out to eat with Pepper instead of taking lunch at the tower like normal. It was probably a good sign he even noticed the weather.

He was relaxed for the first time since…before the war. That was something, it was odd, but not unpleasant. He was half listening to the two women talk while eyeing up the security goons Clint hated. Pepper told him that the lawyers had him cleared of all charged in Russia, Germany, and 38 of the 50 US States. He could go to Jersey now if he wanted to…but honestly who'd _want_ to?

He was musing on all the possible vacation spots when he noticed Pepper go stiff. He tracked her gaze to a sketchy looking guy crossing the street. Allison also picked up on the woman's mood and busied herself with trying to calm her while prying the fork out of her white knuckled grip.

"What's going on?" One of the goons asked.

"I…that was him…the…they." Pepper gasped.

Bucky heard Allison telling Pepper to breath as he slipped away to tail the guy.

Allison was so distracted with trying to keep Pepper from having a panic attack, and all the commotion after the police were called she didn’t notice Bucky was gone until about 30 minutes after the cops had showed up.

 _Oh no!_ she thought while trying to locate him with her powers, _Steve's going to kill me!_

She was dialing the professor to ask if he'd be willing to locate Bucky with Cerebro when Bucky walked in with the skumbag. He handed the criminal off to a cop and avoided her look.

How was she going to tell Steve this one?

"Ma'am we're going to have to go down town." a young officer said gruffly. These little pricks were really testing his nerves. After Bucky mule walked the perp back into the restaurant it had been an hour's worth of unnecessary questions. Apparently no one in the NYPD was happy the Winter Soldier had done a good deed.

"Can't I just tell you what you need to know here?" Pepper asked tiredly, "Or can we finish this tomorrow? It's been a trying day for all of us."

"You want this guy to walk?" The officer snarked condescendingly, "No? Then we have to get an ID." 

"That him Pepper?" Bucky asked stepping up behind the flustered woman. He made quite the imposing figure with his arms crossed, and a menacing glare fixed directly on the rookie cop. 

"Yes." She confirmed quietly.

"There's your ID." Bucky stated, leaving no room for question, "You got any more issues you call her lawyer, we're leaving." 

"That, that's not…I can't" The cop stuttered as Bucky ignored him and lead the two women away from the scene.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

"Thank you for what you did today." Pepper said as they pulled into the tower's garage.

"How did you know that was him?" Allison asked curiously.

"I know the look in a victim's eyes." Bucky replied stiffly, "Saw her react, and tracked her line of vision."

Allison immediately regretted asking. She wanted Bucky to feel accomplished, not remind him of his time with Hydra.

"You don’t have to worry about him anymore." he continued after a moment, "If the cops can't take care of it I will."

"I don’t think it will come to that James." Pepper replied, as Happy parked, "That’s what we pay the layers for."

"I…I have something for you." Bucky said after exiting the vehicle, "Don’t let the cops see it, I'd imagine they'll want it for evidence, and God knows how long it would take to get it back."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a locket.

"How…How did you?" Pepper stuttered, gently taking the necklace from him, "The police said he probably hocked everything?" 

"He did, I made him tell me where." Bucky explained, "Why'd you think it took me so long to get back?" 

Allison laughed, and rubbed Pepper's back while the woman collected herself.

"I don’t know how to repay you," Pepper said teary eyed, "You can't possible know how much this means to me."

"Miss. Potts you don’t owe me a goddamn thing. It's the least I can do," Bucky insisted earnestly, "Especially after everything you've been doing for me."

Pepper stared at him a moment longer before wrapping her arms around him, pulling him into a hug. Allison tried not to laugh as Bucky stood there stiff as a board, clearly uncomfortable with the physical interaction. He looked panicked, and was unsure of what to do with his arms. After a few awkward pats on the shoulder Pepper finally released him. 

"You’re a good man James." Pepper said, "Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Especially yourself."

Bucky nodded, strangely please with the warmth Pepper's complement left in his chest.

Allison smiled to herself on the way up to the floor.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Bucky was reflecting on his day when raised voices from the living room drew his curiosity. He opened the door and quietly stood in the hall listening. Neither noticed his presence, or if they did they didn’t acknowledge him.

"I told you not to leave the tower out without an Avenger escorting you two!" Steve down right hollered at the woman. It wasn't often Steve got this mad about anything.

"We were with Happy, and every other Stark goon available." She defended, "Stop making this into an ugly thing! You should be happy for James!"

"You’re constantly undermining me." Steve seethed, "This was a safety issue, not just for him!"

"You have to stop questioning me at every turn!" She shot back, "Working out, shooting guns, cooking together, sparing Natasha-the list goes on Steve! " 

Bucky hadn’t realized Steve was also against her ideas. They must have agreed to put on a united front just for him. Traitor. 

"I can't keep fighting you and him, it's wearing me thin here." she sighed.

"Oh, _that’s_ what's wearing you thin?" Steve scoffed. "Maybe if you got some sleep you wouldn't make such harebrained choices!" Steve snarled, "Maybe if you were focused on your client, instead of being up at all hours of the night talking to others, I'd know you have his best interests in mind!"

Bucky was used to people talking about him as if he was a piece of furniture, he was content to sit and watch this fall out take place. 

"You don’t know what you're talking about." she said dangerously calm. Bucky recognized the tone, he'd only encountered it a handful of times, but it was her 'Back-Off-Buster' tone. Steve had obviously stepped in it with that comment, and the clout was too caught up in the heat of the moment to notice.

"Yeah, I do." Steve said, "You’ve been working with other clients, taking on extra work to make a quick buck. You need to focus on helping Bucky. You do not need to be up listening to sob stories all night long. Or do you want another Michael situation on your hands."

She recoiled as if he'd slapped her.

"The reason I'm not sleeping is because you refuse to seek help for your _own_ problems." she seethed, "You haven't been having nightmares, because I've been having them for you."

Steve gaped like a fish, how hadn't he realized he started sleeping better, the moment she stopped. 

"The _sob stories_ you've clearly been eavesdropping on, are tapes the Professor created a long time ago. Training to help me control my power." she continued, "How dare _you_ of all people question my intentions here." she said choking back tears, "If I haven't made it clear that my only goal is to help James, then I don’t know what else I can do. I dare you to fine someone else willing to give up their whole life to monitor him 24/7, to successfully help him rehabilitate, to analyze the personalities in the building, and help him start building successful relationships." she listed, "If you could, I _wouldn’t_ be here. I wouldn’t put up with the nasty looks I get from everyone who does not live here. I wouldn’t have willing slept in a place that I _knew_ would affect my wellbeing. I wouldn’t take such a drastic _cut in pay_." 

Well, shit. Steve had no idea she was still being looked down on for being a mutant, or that she took a cut in pay to be Bucky's nanny.

"As for Michael," her voice finally cracked as tears made their way down her face, "You don’t get to throw him in my face. **Ever**. Logan clearly didn’t tell you shit."

She leveled him a teary glare before locking herself in her room.

"It's dinner time." Bucky said startling Steve, "And you just lost me my partner, I'm not cooking on my own."

"I can help you." Steve sighed, "We'll have chicken."

"I don’t want boiled chicken." Bucky said, crossing his arms "I don’t like it."

"Ok Buck." Steve said pinching the bridge of his nose, "We'll grab a pizza or something."

Of course Bucky would choose now to start having opinions, and preferences. 

"You better apologize to her," Bucky said a few moments later, "I'm starting to like her."

 _Starting my ass_ Steve thought feeling like a heel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the long wait.  
> Writers block is a bitch, but I made myself write a detailed outline.   
> Half of the next chapter is done.
> 
>  
> 
> What do you think?


	9. The road to redemption

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No beta mistakes are mine.

"I've been an asshole." Bucky said out of the blue about a few weeks after the Pepper incident. 

"Yep." Allison agreed ignoring the look he shot her.

"Steve told me I was just adjusting." he replied watching her finish putting lunch together.

"Where as _I_ applaud your self-awareness, and would like to know what you plan on doing about it." she smiled sweetly while handing him his plate.

"I liked helping Pepper." Bucky murmured, "I should do nice for the rest of them, get even."

"It's not about getting even," she corrected, "It's about showing them you're grateful for their efforts, and you're willing to open up to them."

"What do I do?" he asked.

"I'm not _giving_ you the answer," she scoffed, "That’s cheating, and it won't feel as good if the ideas are coming from me."

"Thought you were supposed to make me be a person again." he smirked.

"No I'm supposed to _help_ you make yourself a person again." she replied.

"So help me." he said.

"With who?" she asked curiously.

"Tony." Bucky replied, "He likes me right now because I helped Pepper, should be easy." 

"Then what's the problem?" She asked.

"Guy has more money than God." Bucky sighed, "And as big of an ass as he is, he's a capable ass- doesn't need me like Pepper did."

"Let him paint your arm gold and red." she suggested unhelpfully.

"Not happening." He replied easily. 

"Ok, do you have any embarrassing stories about Steve?" She asked.

"Tons, just can’t remember most of them." Bucky said, "Why?"

"What are his two favorite things?" She prompted.

"Machines, and harassing people." he snorted.

"Specifically Steve." she smiled, "You won't let him tinker with the arm so…"

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

It took about a week, but he finally found the perfect thing for Tony. Bucky focused on his breathing as he walked through the halls. Therapy was slowly helping his aversion to the labs, but he still felt uncomfortable to be near them, and he couldn’t go to the medical floor at all. Bucky took one more calming breath before walking into Stark's lab. JARVIS thoughtfully turned off the music that had been blaring moments ago.

"What's up Bucky-Bear ?" Tony hollered from the other side of the lab. He was wearing overalls, a welding mask, and gumboots. 

"I got you something." Bucky said, not commenting on the manic look in the other man's eyes, or the startling amount of empty coffee cups cluttering the man's desk. He'd have to let someone know it was probably time to cut Stark off soon. 

"Wow that is…is this an old timey custom the history books glossed over?" Tony asked studying the framed portrait. It was a, quite frankly obscene, drawing of a buxom blonde straddling a bomb and groping herself. It didn’t take long for Tony to catch the initials S.G.R. neatly printed in familiar handwriting.

"Ste-Gran- **Rogers**!" Tony sputtered in excitement, "Steve?! This was Steve?" Tony's eyes lit up at Bucky's nod. 

"I'm framing it! - It's already framed, I'm hanging it!" Tony exclaimed while searching through random drawers for a hammer and a nail.

Jesus the man was excitable. Now Bucky understood why Allison referred to this one as her 'mad scientist'. 

"Why? How?" Tony demanded before requesting JARVIS summon Steve down to the lab.

"Stevie used to trade rations and favors for dirty pictures in the war." Bucky replied, "I recognized that in an online auction." Thank God no one knew Captain America drew it- probably would have tripled the cost.

"What's wrong?" Steve asked upon entering the lab. He was so preoccupied with Bucky it took him a moment to notice the crooked picture handing on the wall. 

"Steve Rogers: National Icon of Freedom and Justice- and amateur pornographer!" Tony said, "What would Lady Liberty think if she found out her golden son was _peddling smut_?"

"Oh yeah?" Steve challenged, "Did he tell you I drew it for your dad?" 

Buck snorted as Tony pointed an accusatory finger at him.

"Barnes, if I hung a picture from my dad's spank bank-" Tony accused.

"He's lying," Bucky assured, "Stark didn't need saucy pictures during the war! And he had a thing for brunets if my memory serves. That was for an MP who agreed to look the other way for a few hours while Dugan snuck a couple French prostitutes into the barracks." 

"I never thought I'd regret you getting a memory." Steve mumbled while the other two laughed at his expense.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

"Stop bleeding on the carpet!" Allison scolded pressing a towel over his nose. "Sit at the table, Bruce is on his way up."

"Fuck!" Bucky complained, "She broke my nose!"

"Well if you had been paying attention she wouldn’t have." she murmured wincing at the amount of blood 

Bucky didn’t comment. Allison enjoyed yoga, and Bucky enjoyed watching Allison do yoga. So much so that Natalia had got fed up with his lack of focus.

It only took Bruce a few minuets to make it to the suite. He set a bag full of medical supplies down on the table, and put on gloves.

"Allison I left my pen light in the lab would you mind grabbing it for me?" He asked while rifling through his bag.

"I got one in my room." Bucky said, "It's in the bag by the door."

"Why- you know what never mind I don’t want to know." she laughed.

Bucky had recently taken to sneaking around the tower at night to "improve his stealth". The increase in pranks indicated that Clint probably had something to do with it. As long as he was getting enough rest, and she remained off his target list she didn’t care.

"Sorry, I just started grabbing things when I got Allison's text." He murmured while softly prodding Bucky's orbital bone.

"I could 'a come to you Doc." Bucky murmured.

"Sargent Barnes, I know how many horrors you've had to endure in a laboratory." Bruce said kindly, "Why would I make you go to a lab?"

"Got to get used to it sometime." Bucky said, " 'M sure I'll have worse and have to go to Medical."

"Not until you’re ready." Bruce said distractedly, "I prepared a mobile unit, and set some procedures up with Medical should that occur."

"Thank you, surely I can repay you somehow?" Bucky asked [not so] subtly. 

"Just keep working on getting better," Bruce chuckled, "I don’t need dirty pictures, or expensive vodka as payment I assure you."

"Picked up on that did ya'?" Bucky asked a little embarrassed. He'd got most of the team by this point. Vodka for Natalia, intel for Clint, grappling hook for Wilson, and so on. He only had Dr. Banner, and Allison left at this point. 

"The team has appreciated it," he assured "But if you really want to thank me focus on your recovery. You've made tremendous progress thus far."

"How selfless of you." Bucky said flatly. 

"Not really," Bruce chuckled, "The sooner you get better, the sooner I can get Allison back as my assistant."

"Thought you had Lewis now?" Bucky asked. After Stark brought Foster in, her assistant was delegated to helping out all of them in the labs to justify her paycheck, and room in Thor's suite. 

"We do, and she's nice." Bruce said hesitantly. 

"But?"

"I never really developed a taste for pop-tarts." Bruce said, "Or cat meme's…"

Bucky snorted. Darcy Lewis was a modern woman if ever he met one. Intelligent, opinionated, sassy, and gorgeous; just Steve's type. He spent a great deal of time scheming up clandestine meetings between Steve and the mouthy little brunette. If the dope wasn't so terrible with women they'd be together by now. He'd briefly considered Allison, but some selfish part of him didn’t like that idea at all. Plus she was still icing Steve out, girl could hold a grudge. He could appreciate that in a woman. In fact he could appreciate a lot about Allison.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

It was one of those rare quiet moments in the tower. Steve had fixed himself a strong cup of coffee and was enjoying the silence of the kitchen, as he took advantage of the view.

"It's time." Natasha said breaking the peaceful silence. 

"Gah!" Steve startled, turning towards the woman "When will you stop doing that?"

"When you stop jumping." She smirked, "It's time for you to clear Barnes for light duty."

"You think he's ready?" Steve asked hesitantly. He'd known this chat was coming, but he hadn't been looking forward to it. Bucky had made tremendous progress the last few months.

"He's ready to start running drills, and integrating into the team dynamic." Nat advised

"I don't know," Steve sighed, "It still feels too soon."

"He's getting restless." Nat said watching Steve fidget, "He needs more than sparing with me and shooting things with Clint. Why are you stalling?"

"What if he has an episode?" Steve asked, "Pepper worked really hard to get him cleared. I don’t want his public image tarnished if he-"

"Listen I've been training with him for months now, he's in control, he knows how to manage his stressors." Natasha reasoned, "It's time for the next step."

"What if something sets him back?" Steve asked, "What if this new environment triggers the soldier."

"Then Allison will work her ju-ju magic on him." Clint said before knocking out the intake vent cover and dropping into the room. 

"I hate living with spies." Steve murmured pinching the bridge of his nose. These two seemed to take his enhanced scenes as a challenge.

"Nah, we keep things interesting." Clint said grabbing a slice of pizza from the fridge, "Come on Steve, Bruce says he's healthy, Sam says he's stable. Plus if he goes full metal jacket what better place to do it than a campus full of agents and superheroes? If he freaks out we take him down no problem!"

"We wont have to take him down." Nat said glaring at Clint, "He'll be fine, and we can take some cautionary measures on the off chance he isn't." 

"Totally!" Clint agreed, "We control who's around, what drills we run, how hard we work him." 

"Bring Allison for the first few days." Natasha added, "Schedule more sessions with Sam to make sure he's processing healthy." 

Steve sighed heavily. Logically, he knew they were right, but accepting that was difficult. He was so proud of the progress Bucky had made. 

"I know Sam made this same suggestion a month ago." Nat said, "It's time to let up the leash a little bit."

"What's Allison think?" Steve asked.

"Why don’t you ask her?" Nat smirked, "Surely you can't stay mad at each other much longer."

"I'm not mad at her." Steve defended.

"No but you stepped in it, and you haven't apologized yet." Clint chuckled, there was a betting pool on how long the two would keep it up.

"Is that what she told you?" Steve asked, "I'm not apologizing for looking out for Bucky's best interest."

"Bucky said you stepped in it." Clint laughed, "He thinks the tension is hilarious."

"Yeah I know." Steve said flatly, "He's a troll."

"Playing mom off dad?" Nat asked curiously.

"He tries occasionally." Steve confirmed, "I think now it's just to get a rise out of us."

"Allison refuses to comment - says it's not her place." Clint said, getting back on topic, "But I've been tailing Barnes since he got to the tower, and I haven't seen his crazy eyes in a solid two months."

"I too have been monitoring Sargent Barnes' progress." JARVIS added, "Eating and sleeping habits are drastically improved. Social interaction is at an all time high. I took the liberty of sending the statistics to your StarkPad."

"Thank you JARVIS, but I know when I'm beat." Steve sighed, "I guess I'll talk to Bucky and Allison tonight, and notify Hill in the morning."

Needless to say Bucky was thrilled with the news. Strangely Allison was more weary. She tried to hide it but Steve recognized the hesitation, he'd have to ask Logan about that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that Bucky is on the mend we'll be diving into the developing relationship with Bucky and Allison.


	10. Getting Closer

"Why'd you cut out there for a while?" Bucky asked, sitting across from Allison. "Thought you liked watching the warmups."

Allison made no attempt to hide her appreciation of the well-built men Bucky got to train with. Sam commented more than once that he felt like a piece of meat when she was around. The way Bucky saw it they'd all done their fair share of ogling, at least he had…did.

"I do appreciate the way you all fill out those standard issue fatigues," she laughed wiggling her eyebrows. "But Darcy had a question."

"Everything ok?" He asked. Steve would not be happy if the girl was distressed. He'd grown even closer to the sassy brunette this last month.

"Yeah, I-hold on." She sighed as her phone went off again.

Bucky listened to her one sided conversation about tea, and fire safety.

"Darcy again?" he asked once she ended the call.

"Yeah, sorry. Jane and Tony are in the middle of a breakthrough. Tony is insufferable at this point in his 'process'. Jane forgets to eat, drink, and sleep." she said, " Bruce is stressed about the thing with General Ross, and he's been a little green around the gills…Darcy has her hands full."

"You know," Bucky started cautiously, "It might be time for you to go back to the lab." He'd been trying to bring this up for a few weeks and now seemed like the best opportunity. He'd taken to the training, like a fish to water. There hadn't been any adverse effects at all, in fact he was thriving in this environment.

"Are you breaking up with me Bucky Barnes?" Allison asked skeptically, "Don’t think telling me in a public place will deter me from making a scene."

"No, doll." he chuckled, "They need you more than me right now." 

"Are you positive?" she asked, "I know Sam and Steve said they wanted me here until you’re settled but…"

"Consider me settled." he said softly. Bucky could tell she was having a hard time with this suggestion.

"I'm trying not to take it personal." she said after a moment.

"Please don’t, " Bucky said grabbing her hand knowing she would pick up on his emotions better than he could express. "I don’t need you _here_. I need you at home to run interference when Steve is being a fat-head, so I don’t knock him out. I need you at social events when I get restless." 

"What social events?" she asked dryly. Allison squeezed his hand before running her fingers over his as she read him deeper. For the last few weeks he'd started initiating physical contact with those he was close to. Little touches as he walked by, holding hands, hugs. It could be very distracting.

"You're content." She murmured, "Comfortable." She could feel none of the restlessness, despair, or apathy he's been drowning in when she arrived. If she was honest with herself he'd been ready, "cured" as Tony said, for a while now. She was having a hard time letting go, but that wasn’t his fault, and she knew it.

"I'm in my element." he confessed.

"Ok, I'll let you call the shots here." she agreed blushing a bit as he kissed her hand. Goddamn those blue eyes.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

The boys were sitting on Tony's roof smoking cigars, and enjoying the man's expensive scotch. Logan was over for their monthly 'boys night' as Allison called it. She was spending the night with Darcy, no doubt gossiping about Darcy's blossoming relationship with Steve. The punk had finally manned up and asked her to be 'his girl' a few weeks ago, and it was sickening how moon eyed they got around each other. Steve was ribbing Bucky about Allison visiting him a couple times this week for lunch.

"She's had a hard time letting go?" Logan asked.

"Yeah," Bucky confirmed, "I finally had to outright ask her to step back a few weeks ago. She's been better, but still gets worried and comes by to check up on me under the guise of bringing me lunch." 

"It's been refreshing having someone more worried about Bucky than me for once." Steve chuckled.

"I don’t mind a dame like that bringin' me food." Bucky smirked, "It's better than the slop they serve in the mess. Just wish I knew what to do to ease her worries."

"It's not all you Barnes." Logan said, he hesitated slightly before continuing. "I'm going to tell you something, but you can not bring this up with her. She'd get pissed if she knew I told you, Michael is still a sensitive topic for her." 

"Yeah, we know." Bucky said flatly, "Steve already fucked up big time by dropping that name."

"I thought you’d have grow out of that by now." Logan sighed pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Grow out of what?" Steve asked

"Being an idiot around women." Bucky answered for the other man.

"Darcy says it's cute." Steve murmured lowly and ignored the other two men's scoffs.

"This does not get brought up- you hear me Rogers? Never."

"Noted." Steve agreed.

"Allison was working with a… mutant POW essentially; he'd been captured, tortured, and experimented on. When we picked him up he was just a ball of rage and paranoia." Logan started.

"She does have a type." Bucky murmured.

"Nah, you weren't even a quarter as bad as him." Logan assured, "Allison and the Professor worked with him for over a year, his recovery was slow. The Professor pieced his mind back together as much as possible, but because of a couple security issues, was forced to have him move off campus. Against all of our wishes, Allison lived off site with him to help keep him emotionally stable." Logan took a second to down the rest of his beer. "Said she didn’t want him to lose the progress he had made. Michael had a seventeen year old sister who was a student at the school. She went to visit over spring break, and he snapped. Bree, his sister, tried to calm him down and he back handed her through a wall. Girl must have been ninety pounds soakin' wet- got a nasty head injury, was unresponsive. Michael handcuffed himself to Allison and refused to let her get help. Held her hostage. We headed out when Bree didn’t show up to class. He ended up offin' himself before we got in."

"What happened to the girl?" Bucky asked.

"She's still in a coma," Logan sighed, "The Professor, Jean, and McCoy all agree there is no chance for recovery, and she should be taken off life support, but Allison refuses. She's been paying for Bree to stay in a specialized facility with experimental treatment out of pocket. Feels responsible because she cleared Bree to visit."

"That’s why she takes extra jobs for the money." Steve sighed, "I'm an ass."

"So she's worried I'll snap." Bucky said.

"Marginally," Logan conceded, "She's like this with all of the cases she's taken since. She also likes you a hell of a lot so that's probably most of it."

Steve choked on his drink as Bucky scoffed.

"Come on, you're a good looking bastard Barnes, even with that mop of hair." Logan laughed, "And while you're not the insufferable flirt I knew in the 40's, you are apparently, what was it she told Jean? Oh yeah, charming."

"I don’t know that Allison would appreciate you telling us this." Steve said eyeing his friend.

"She wouldn’t," Logan affirmed, "But she also wouldn’t instigate a relationship because of her role as your caretaker. She'll pine away in silence. Allison deserves a good man, and you're as close as I can get."

"I'm not-" Bucky started, only to be interrupted by the older man.

"Bull fucking shit." Logan scoffed, "You were a good man in the war, you're a good man now. We all know you're fully recovered, or you wouldn't have been cleared for duty.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

"So how long until you jump Bucky's bones?" Darcy asked half way through her second margarita.

"Wow," Allison chuckled, "That took longer than I thought it would."

"I've been working on my self-control strategies lately." Darcy said primly.

"Mmm, the bra I found in the lab last week says otherwise." she laughed.

"Oh good you found it!" Darcy exclaimed, "I was worried Tony was…I don’t know."

"Trying to build an anatomically accurate robot for it?" Allison supplied. The two giggled drunkenly for a bit.

"Don’t think I forgot about Barnes, Ms. Allison." The other woman said, "Spill."

"What?" she asked, "I mean you get it, he's…he's… special to me."

" _Special_ " Darcy leered, "Yeah, I get it. You need to make a move."

"No," Allison said firmly, "I have rules, he has to make the first move."

"How 1800's of you." she teased.

"No," Allison corrected, "I don’t want to influence him, I don’t want to…It's how I know. With the ju-ju you know?"

"Ugh," Darcy said, "Please God, I hope he isn't as slow as Steve. It took _months_ for him to check out the girls."

"No it didn't," Allison scoffed.

"Yeah, you're right, it didn’t." she laughed, "But it did take months for him to finally make a move."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

"Are you bored?" Allison asked, from her spot on the couch the next night. Most of the team was out on a mission today, and he hadn't been able to train with any one.

"How'd you know?" Bucky asked flatly, assuming she'd read him.

"That’s the third time you’ve cleaned that gun." she chuckled.

"Just restless." he murmured.

"We could go out." she suggested cautiously. Bucky didn’t often leave his comfort zone. "The team got back a bit ago, and unless he was injured, Darcy and Steve are going to a food tuck event, later. It's outside, shouldn’t be too crowded."

"I'm not going to be a third wheel

"Hence why I said _we_ ," she said rolling her eyes, "I'll be your date!"

"I don’t know…" Bucky said.

"I'm not askin' to wear your pin fella'." She teased, as he hesitated, "Just a few drinks, and some good food with our friends."

"I guess we can make fun of Steve's moves." Bucky said. He didn’t love the idea of a public outing. He still got nervous, and Pepper did such a great job with her PR, that people felt comfortable enough to approach him now. 

"What moves?" she asked skeptically. 

"Exactly." he said flatly, "It's good entertainment, dinner and a show with my best girl sounds good."

Neither commented on the blush Allison unsuccessfully tried to hide at being called his 'best girl'.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mmm...I don't have a great excuse for not updating...so... yeah.  
> Just working on a few more paragraphs, and the next chapter should be done, thanks!


	11. Going, Going...

Allison was having a moment. Logically she knew this day was coming; Bucky's first mission, that didn’t stop her from panicking though. She tried to be happy for him- she could feel the excitement radiating off of him as he went over plans with Steve. When sitting there listening to them became too much, she left the apartment with a poor excuse of work in the labs.

She'd been staring at Bruce's notes for twenty minutes when Steve came down.

"You ok?" he asked tentatively from the door- knowing full well she wasn't.

"Peachy." she lied.

"Don’t worry Allison, it'll be ok." He said pulling her into his arms, hoping the physical contact would calm her a little, "One of us will be with him the whole time. He's only taking point- won't be in the line of fire."

"I just…" she shook her head trying to blink the tears away.

"I know, _trust me_ I know." he said, "But he's ready, I wouldn't send him out if he wasn’t."

She didn’t look convinced, but she relaxed into the hug, and let herself feel his confidence. They stood in there for quite a while before a knock announced Bucky's arrival. 

"Bring him back." she whispered, watching the man that had quickly become the center of her universe make his way into the room. 

"Can do." Steve replied squeezing one last time before making himself scarce. He may be terrible with women, but even he noticed the rising tension between those two the last few months.

"Hey," Bucky said once Steve had left. 

"Hi." She said quietly. She looked so uncertain, and he did not like being the cause of her distress one bit. They'd become closer, dancing on the edge of friendship, and something more. 

"Here," he said handing her a steaming cup of tea, "Thought it might help you relax."

"Thank you." she said before downing the glass in one go, "Didn’t help." she coughed a little.

"I wish I had something profound to tell ya'- but I ain't so good with words, and you're going to worry no matter what I say." he said as he pulled her into his arms, "So I'll just have to help Steve knock this out asap, and come home."

"Promise?" She asked softly.

"Yeah," he mumbled leaning in, tasting her sweet breath before claiming her mouth with a heat almost frightening in its intensity. 

Admittedly Bucky couldn’t really remember many, if any, first kisses, but he was sure it had never been like this. The first time was supposed to be tender, gentle, and sweet, this kiss was anything but. Maybe it was their familiarity bread from constant companionship, maybe it was all the nervous anticipation from dancing around each other these last few months, or the raw sexual tension that had built to a fever pitch. This kiss was not tender or gentle; it was heated and hungry.

His tongue glided along her bottom lip, asking for entrance, which she eagerly grated. His soft, warm, flat tongue plunged inside her depths, probing and exploring the warm wetness of her mouth. She moaned, pulling him impossible closer, heightening his desire, and loosening the shaky grip he had on his control. Hers was long past gone, hormones raging, head swimming, and body singing. She melted into him as their emotions ebbed and flowed like a stormy ocean; rapid moving, with unparalleled strength, and a seemingly bottomless depth.

Bucky moved his open hand up and down her back, and then slowly, hesitantly- because he was suddenly unsure of how much was too much and where the line was- he moved around her side. His thumb brushed along her ribs just a hair under her bralette, while his other long fingers stretched and curved around her side. She didn't stop him, she couldn't even form a coherent thought. All her attention was focused on the amazing, heady feel of his mouth on hers, and the sheer power of his emotions. It wasn’t the first time she'd felt his arousal, it wasn’t even the first time she'd felt his arousal aimed at her, but the strength of his emotions took her breath away as much as the seductive rhythm of his tongue.

They separated for the briefest of moments, resulting in a needy pout from Allison. Bucky chuckled lowly before nipping at her swollen bottom lip with his teeth. Her lips captured his again; hungrier this time. Passion and need invaded her senses, engulfing her, consuming her, lighting a fire inside, as her heart swelled with love and desire. It was overwhelming, and any moment she felt like her body would combust with the intensity of these feelings. It was too much, and yet not nearly enough.

"Wow," she murmured as they parted, "Sure like to take your time don’t ya'?"

"Oh, was I taking too long Ms. Stills?" he chuckled.

"Ages," she smiled, "And now you're leaving, and I have to wait again."

"Not for long." he promised, running his thumb along her cheek, "At the very least, I'll have time to think of some comebacks for Stark's jokes." Bucky said alluding to the fact that Stark was sure to point out his girl was essentially being paid to date him. 

"You will spend this mission focused on nothing but completing it, and coming home safely. Do you hear me James Buchannan Barnes?" She demanded before softly pecking his lips again, "Plus I quit when I went back to the lab. So technically Tony is the one I get paid to be around."

"I hope you got a raise." Bucky laughed before pulling her back, capturing her lips for a brief, sweet kiss that held a silent promise of things to come. They parted as the slow heat simmering just below the surface began to grow.

"Promise me you'll keep yourself busy." He told her, "Don’t sit around and worry about me for nine days."

"Don't tell me what to do." she said with little conviction, "I was thinking about maybe visiting the school."

"You should." he agreed, "Take Tony if you go, Logan said the man crush with McCoy goes both ways."

"He'll be at a conference," she said snuggling into his arms, "When do you leave?"

"Early," he answered breathing in her scent, "We'll be gone before you’re up."

"I'm not going to be able to sleep." she scoffed.

"Yes you are," he assured her, "I spiked your tea with a sleeping pill. You should be out in the next half an hour."

"You dirty rat." she chuckled into his chest. 

She woke up the next morning tucked into her bed. She went about her days as normal as she could, it was coming home to an empty apartment where she couldn't distract herself that did her in. 

"Maybe it is time to visit The Professor." she murmured.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

"I'm going to need you to not kill anyone." Tony prefaced as they walked down the ramp. The mission had gone exceptionally well; the intel they were after was successfully extracted, and the base destroyed. Bucky was eager to get back to Allison, and explore this new relationship. They'd left things open, and for once in his life he wanted to talk about his feelings.

"What did you do?" Steve asked dryly. It did not bode well that Tony was meeting them at the landing pad.

Tony looked between the two super soldiers. He'd been dreading this moment since the communiqué of their ETA came in. It was better to just do this quickly- like a Band-Aid. As much as he was dreading telling Bucky, at least he knew the man wouldn’t turn into the Hulk. Banner took out a wall in R&D.

"Allison is missing." Tony said quickly.

Bucky's heart stopped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aww Plot No!


End file.
